The Pinhole Camera Project
For this project we had to first build and test pinhole camera's. We researched how the camera works, the modern camera and the comparison of the human eye and a modern day camera. We then put together all that information and compiled it on to a display board, which we exhibited at the Media Arts Center.
Our explanation paragraphs
These explanations were used in our final display board:
How does light travel in waves?
Many years ago scientists thought light moved as straight particles. Scientists have learned that light reacts the same way waves do. Some of the ways that light is like waves are that light reflects just how waves reflect, lights refracts the same way waves refract, and light diffracts the same way waves diffract. There are different types of waves and one of them is electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies that the different electromagnetic waves have. All of the frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum move at the speed of light. The only thing different from the electromagnetic waves is that they all have different frequencies (and therefore different wavelengths), which does not affect the speed at which waves move. The lowest frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum are radio waves, with the highest frequencies being gamma rays. In about the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum there are waves with just the right frequencies that allow us to see them - this is visible light and the spectrum of colors from red to violet. The speed of light is the fastest thing known to man at the moment, and anything with mass is incapable of reaching that speed.
How does a pinhole camera work?
The pinhole camera, also known as Camera Obsucura or “dark chamber”, uses a pin size hole as it’s lens. Light seeps in through the hole, then (because of the Rectilinear Propagation of Light) the light has a tendency to move in straight lines. This goes through the tiny hole which projects the image on a surface on the other side of the hole. Each point on the surface of a bright object reflects waves (or rays) in every direction. The pinhole lets through some rays which continue on through the hole until they meet the projection plane where they make a reverse, inverted, or mirror image of the object. The light illuminating from the object sometimes has different shades of color. Those colors filter through the hole which makes the image color on the screen. A smaller pinhole makes a clear and non-fuzzy image, while a larger pinhole creates a fuzzier image because each point on the image becomes more blurry. When too much light is entering the camera it causes the image to deform.
How do cameras with lenses work?
Camera’s work by having an assortment of different optical lenses of which the light passes through. They have different lenses because each on helps correct a problem that the light does to an image. Because the light we see reflects off of objects, the image becomes upside down so our brains correct the image in our cornea but cameras use different lenses instead to solve that problem. The reason they use optical lenses is because the lenses are curved making the light that hits the lens turn in towards the middle of the lens making a focal point, meaning you get a sharper less blurry image. When you look through the eye piece of a camera your seeing the light bounce of mirrors behind the lenses going into your eye. When you press the button to take a picture one of the mirrors with a hinge inside the camera moves up for the light to ingrain the image into the film which was behind the hinged mirror.
How does a camera compare to an eye?
Both the human eye and a camera use a lens. They both use the same type of lens, a converging lens. Converging lenses are like magnifying glasses. The lens converges the light onto a sensor for a digital camera, or against the back of your eye for the lens on your eye. Like a sensor in a digital camera, your eye uses something called a retina. The retina has lots of micro transmitters called rods and cones in it. They are antennas that tell your brain about the light that hits them. The rods tell your brain what kind of light it is and if the light is not on certain spots of the retina. The cones tell your brain what color the light is. The parts of the eye work similar to a camera. Your eye itself is like the camera. Your cornea is like a lens cover, and it takes in the diverging rays of light and bends to the pupil. The pupil creates focus, it regulates the amount of light that gets to your retina, like the aperture of a camera. It also enables depth perception. Your retina is like a sensor, it sends the image to your brain to flip the image right side up, since you actually see upside-down. The digital camera sensor uses a flip mirror which flips the image so you can view it on your digital screen. Your retina projects images in a negative form. The image gets sent up to your brain which it then inverts, exactly like a sensor in a camera would. As you can see, the camera is very much like the eye.
Website used: Pinhole.cz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_lens http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=643,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/u12l1a.cfm
How does light travel in waves?
Many years ago scientists thought light moved as straight particles. Scientists have learned that light reacts the same way waves do. Some of the ways that light is like waves are that light reflects just how waves reflect, lights refracts the same way waves refract, and light diffracts the same way waves diffract. There are different types of waves and one of them is electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies that the different electromagnetic waves have. All of the frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum move at the speed of light. The only thing different from the electromagnetic waves is that they all have different frequencies (and therefore different wavelengths), which does not affect the speed at which waves move. The lowest frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum are radio waves, with the highest frequencies being gamma rays. In about the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum there are waves with just the right frequencies that allow us to see them - this is visible light and the spectrum of colors from red to violet. The speed of light is the fastest thing known to man at the moment, and anything with mass is incapable of reaching that speed.
How does a pinhole camera work?
The pinhole camera, also known as Camera Obsucura or “dark chamber”, uses a pin size hole as it’s lens. Light seeps in through the hole, then (because of the Rectilinear Propagation of Light) the light has a tendency to move in straight lines. This goes through the tiny hole which projects the image on a surface on the other side of the hole. Each point on the surface of a bright object reflects waves (or rays) in every direction. The pinhole lets through some rays which continue on through the hole until they meet the projection plane where they make a reverse, inverted, or mirror image of the object. The light illuminating from the object sometimes has different shades of color. Those colors filter through the hole which makes the image color on the screen. A smaller pinhole makes a clear and non-fuzzy image, while a larger pinhole creates a fuzzier image because each point on the image becomes more blurry. When too much light is entering the camera it causes the image to deform.
How do cameras with lenses work?
Camera’s work by having an assortment of different optical lenses of which the light passes through. They have different lenses because each on helps correct a problem that the light does to an image. Because the light we see reflects off of objects, the image becomes upside down so our brains correct the image in our cornea but cameras use different lenses instead to solve that problem. The reason they use optical lenses is because the lenses are curved making the light that hits the lens turn in towards the middle of the lens making a focal point, meaning you get a sharper less blurry image. When you look through the eye piece of a camera your seeing the light bounce of mirrors behind the lenses going into your eye. When you press the button to take a picture one of the mirrors with a hinge inside the camera moves up for the light to ingrain the image into the film which was behind the hinged mirror.
How does a camera compare to an eye?
Both the human eye and a camera use a lens. They both use the same type of lens, a converging lens. Converging lenses are like magnifying glasses. The lens converges the light onto a sensor for a digital camera, or against the back of your eye for the lens on your eye. Like a sensor in a digital camera, your eye uses something called a retina. The retina has lots of micro transmitters called rods and cones in it. They are antennas that tell your brain about the light that hits them. The rods tell your brain what kind of light it is and if the light is not on certain spots of the retina. The cones tell your brain what color the light is. The parts of the eye work similar to a camera. Your eye itself is like the camera. Your cornea is like a lens cover, and it takes in the diverging rays of light and bends to the pupil. The pupil creates focus, it regulates the amount of light that gets to your retina, like the aperture of a camera. It also enables depth perception. Your retina is like a sensor, it sends the image to your brain to flip the image right side up, since you actually see upside-down. The digital camera sensor uses a flip mirror which flips the image so you can view it on your digital screen. Your retina projects images in a negative form. The image gets sent up to your brain which it then inverts, exactly like a sensor in a camera would. As you can see, the camera is very much like the eye.
Website used: Pinhole.cz, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camera_lens http://www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/ask/index.html?quid=643,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/u12l1a.cfm
Here are some diagrams we used
Reflections
I thought our first high school exhibition went great. I got to read a poem in front of everyone, that was fun. I think that the middle schools exhibition's have definitely prepared me for the high school ones. But I got a 25 out of 25 on my exhibition grade, which I think reflects my efforts at exhibition since i worked hard on it.
I think I worked pretty hard on this project. My camera and eye 3D model was something I worked the hardest on. My decoration of my box could have been a little better, I just didn't know what else to add to it without going over the top. Me and my partner worked well together, I think we played off each others strengths. Overall I am satisfied with the amount of work I did and I think I put forth a good effort.
Below are some exhibition pictures...
I think I worked pretty hard on this project. My camera and eye 3D model was something I worked the hardest on. My decoration of my box could have been a little better, I just didn't know what else to add to it without going over the top. Me and my partner worked well together, I think we played off each others strengths. Overall I am satisfied with the amount of work I did and I think I put forth a good effort.
Below are some exhibition pictures...
My pinhole picture
Negative
.
Inverted
.