The Physics of the Acrylic Print
Understanding the Unique Optical Properties of Acrylic Prints
Acrylic Prints have unique optical properties due to the physics of visible light traveling through the acrylic layer.
Visible light, or white light, bends slightly as it passes from one medium (air) to another medium (e.g., water). This bending is called light refraction.
Light refraction affects the observed image in two ways:
Magnification: The bent light causes the observed object to appear slightly magnified, enhancing the image's clarity. This principle underlies optical lens technology used in cameras and microscopes.
Color Vibrancy: The bent light also experiences a slight shift in the visible light spectrum, adding vibrancy to the observed colors.
A simplified example of this phenomenon can be seen with the Acrylic Print:
Incident light (ambient light all around us) bends slightly as it enters the acrylic layer.
The altered and shortened light path travels until the opaque barrier on the backside reflects the light back through the acrylic layer.
The light bends again and travels to the observer's eye.
This shorter travel distance creates a minuscule magnification, enhancing the image's clarity. This is why pencils in water appear slightly larger.
This slight magnification provides enhanced clarity, perceptible subconsciously to the human eye. In essence, the acrylic layer acts like a lens.
The opaque barrier's importance is highlighted here. If light leaks out through the back of the print, the clarity impact is lost because the light isn't reflected back to the eye.
A profile view of the Acrylic Print shows how its construction traps light within the acrylic layer and reflects it back to the observer.
Additionally, bending light causes a slight shift in the visible color spectrum. Each time light bends, the ultraviolet (UV) portion of the spectrum becomes more dominant, and the infrared (IR) portion less so. UV light has more energy and a shorter wavelength than IR light, making it more impactful.
Human eyes are particularly sensitive to UV light, making colors under a UV-dominant spectrum appear especially vibrant. This principle is why diamonds have luster—the light bends multiple times within the diamond, exaggerating the spectrum shift each time.
The result of these principles is an Acrylic Print image with exceptional clarity and luminance. It's truly striking to see firsthand.
