The Photographic Grain

Abstract

The term photographic grain has been used in the jargon of the trade with three separate meanings: it applies sometimes to the grainy pattern visible in a highly enlarged photograph, sometimes to a particle of the developed silver in the image, and other times to the undeveloped silver halide particles of the original film. A review of some significant topics related to each of these three meanings is given, emphasizing the interactions between the three concepts.