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| How an electronic image is created |
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When analog film material is exposed, a chemical reaction blackens the silver halogenides on the film surface. A color image is then created through chemical interaction with various dyes during development of the film.
Electronic photography uses a different approach. Instead of silver, silicon (SiO2) is exposed. The special feature of silicon is its capability of converting light particles (photons) into electric charge and storing them. This is made possible by a phenomenon called the photoelectric effect, which allows metal conductors to form and emit electrons under photon bombardment. Electronic image sensors can read these charge quantities and convert them into digital parameters. The combination of many of these pixels (pixel = picture elements) will form a digital photo which can be stored or printed. | |
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