Picture perfect is a demo all about pixels and resolution which
are important concepts for imaging at all wavelength regions including
the visible – you will probably have heard of the term megapixel
in relation to digital cameras.
There are two main hands on demonstrations that participants can
play and learn with. The first is a set of pin boards with different
sized pins. Small pins represent short wavelengths and large pins
represent long wavelengths. By trying to imprint various shapes
on the differing pin boards they will realise that the smaller pins
give a better outline of the shape. This leads to the idea that
smaller wavelengths give a better image.
The second demonstration highlights the effect of resolution on
image recognition. The students will look at a variety of objects
in increasing resolution and try and guess what the objects are
as the image quality improves. This is particularly relevant when
considering security imaging. How many pixels do you need to know
if that is a gun or a hairdryer? Is that a pen or a knife?