I've been thinking of a real 3D display for a long time. You see, if two intersecting - colliding - electron beams can produce a real photon and if you consider this a voxel, which it is, then it is possible to build a volumetric display with a grid of electron cannons, two of them colliding in the x and y axis and this xy plane being reproduced in the z axis. If you control the beams precisely, fast enough, you could "scan" the grid in all three axes, creating a dynamic 3D image that can be viewed from any angle, much like a 3D printer forms objects layer by layer but in real-time and with light instead of material.
Considerations:
- The accuracy of the electron beam control would be crucial to ensure that photons are produced at the right locations in the 3D grid.
- Energy Requirements: High-energy electron beams would require significant power and advanced beam control systems to generate enough energy to produce visible photons while avoiding issues like scattering.
- This concept would likely require advancements in electron beam control and volumetric display technology to achieve practical use. Similar technologies already exist in areas like cathode ray tube (CRT) displays and electron beam lithography, but extending this to a 3D volumetric display would involve overcoming many technical challenges.
- Beam Interference: Electron beams are highly sensitive to interference, so you'd need precise control over the environment (vacuum, temperature, pressure) to avoid disruptions in the beam path or photon generation.
- Photon Efficiency: Maximizing the number of photons emitted at each intersection is crucial for a bright display. Minimizing scattering losses or inefficiencies in photon emission at beam intersections could be a key challenge.
- Complexity of 3D Grid Setup: Setting up and maintaining a 3D grid of intersecting beams will require precision engineering and calibration. You could explore automated calibration methods, possibly using machine learning to fine-tune the display in real-time.
