Laser Christmas Tree

This Instructable works off the same idea we used for the Laser Pumpkin. We used assorted products at our disposal from Laserglow.com and Novalasers.com to create a festive laser display all coming from a Christmas Tree.

Step 1: Prepare your Lasers.

For this project we used an assortment of continuous operation lasers from Laserglow.com's Brightline Series. The lasers ranged in power outputs of 25 mW to 40 mW, but you can use lowered powered units, but it won't be as awesome.

We removed the mounting brackets and prepared them with matching power supplies to be placed on the tree. If you don't have access to continuous operation lasers you can use a regular laser pointers by taping the button so it stays on. Your battery will die eventually, but you'll have a temporary solution to create your own display. Green laser pointers can be purchased from both Laserglow.com and Novalasers.com.

Comments

[Kitty2011]

great job, the laser show is beautiful

[joe57005]

this must be what the borg would put up if they were Christian.

[Nanette]

Hi Joe,
Christmas isn't a Christian holiday - it's really very pagan. ^_

[ironman0104]

Christmas was the MASS of Christ. The Son of God. There is no Christmas without Jesus. Anyone who can read basic words would know this. One day God will prove that Jesus is the reason for the season.

[zvillesurfer]

Jesus wasn't even born on December 25. There was a pagan holiday on December 25 and the christians adopted that date.

[FrozenIce]

yeah actually he was born on the25th :P if not then when??

[hjjusa]

in april

[komecake]

  I can't believe it took 11 months for someone to respond to that comment. So thank you. I can't stand people who don't research anything and just believe what's right in front of them.

[joe57005]

it started as a pegan holiday but was adapted to a more religious christian version by the roman catholic church during the reformation. (the day means different things depending on the religious beliefs of the person.)

[pdub77]

You are confusing "Christmas" with whatever they called their pagan holiday.  I'll readily admit that the early church appropriated some pagan dates in order to help convert people.  But if it is called "Christmas" we are referring to the birth of Christ, and therefore the Christmas holiday celebrates just that.  Commercialism, different religious (or nonreligious) traditions falling on the same date and Santa Claus notwithstanding.

I hope this was timely enough for komecake.

Happy New Year, btw. . .

[brad]

I thought that was the point of the Borg - they were Christian. "Your culture will become our culture, free thinking will be sacrificed for the good of the many, refusing to give up your culture to ours is futile, as we will overwhelm you with more advanced technology..."

[joe57005]

if you look at startrek cannon, the borg's assimilation is in the interests of promoting their own evolution, taking on the advantageous aspects of each species they assimilate.

[DeusXMachina]

Hehehe that tickles me.....

"ONE OF US!!!"

I'm pagan but I don't mind Christmas because it gives the Italian side of my family an excuse to make the best food on the planet and eat continuously over a 48 hour period ^{. That is the meaning of Christmas right, feast? Feasting and new stuff and cutting down pine trees so they can slowly die in your living room. Ahhh, America.}

[acherman]

2 1/2 years for me to read this, but I hate when people bring religion into my Christmas! haha

[mischka]

+1

[king kolton9]

put burnig laser (dramatization) mother:look honey its a disco tree. kid:my eyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeees. mother: whats wrong. mother looks at eyes mother:YOU KILLED HIM AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. kid;NO IM FINE) (SLASH) KID: mom mom mom mom mom mommy mommy mommy mommy mommy ma ma ma ma ma mama mama mama mama mama........................

[king kolton9]

sorry i mean put a burning laser on it then all that jibber jabber will hapen

[FrozenIce]

lol mom mom mom mom mom mom mom mom

[riffraff]

why is the video down because of copywrong?

[riff raff]

I wouldn't say that.

Whoa! I did!

No, wait...

[mechcem]

pretty ......AAAHHH MY EYE!!!!

[The_Black_Hole]

eye?

[bigfootduck]

This is for the damaged eye comments: Where sunglasses!

[LRMNmeyer]

Old comment, yes, but sunglasses will do nothing to protect your vision from lasers. If anything, they make it worse by making your pupils dilate. Eyes+lasers+sunglasses=blind spot.
Anyone who is thinking of using sunglasses as laser protection- buy some certified glasses!

[mr.dr.prof.joel]

i thought the tree would burst into flame

[IamTheCreator]

In the video, I expected it to break in out in techno music and have lasers flash all over, guess I was wrong :(. But I think you'll win the holidays contest :)

[DeriemD]

yhea it kinda gives that impression

[bigfootduck]

I thought that too. Like it would be all quiet and slow, and suddenly the lasers would turn on in techno or something. lol

[computerwiz_222]

same lol

[Heliosphan]

Yeah first thing springs to mind are young eyes staring unknowingly at a beautiful tree ***And I spy not a single WARNING label anywhere on this Instructable*** Perhaps you should just put the idea up on some kind of a website, lots of pictures and videos, and a how-to, then leave it at that? May I suggest nobody builds this at home lest some poor so and so thinks its not incredibly dangerous, which it appears to be. Incidentally is that a WHITE laser I see in that picture? How do that?

[Insaneisfun]

Go suck tree.

[Hawaii00000]

Quite random. Still, anything with lasers is cool.

[royalestel]

Could you also add a couple lasers to one of those fiber optic trees that came out a few years ago and get a similar effect?

[buterSBob29]

i love nova lasers

[Doctor What]

Well, looks kindov dangerous to me. If someone looking at it took a laser in the eye....

[Kiteman]

You used "a selection" of lasers that start at $189.

Any chance of producing an 'ible that requires rather less than $1000 of your lasers?

Maybe a single laser plus a load of beam-splitters?

[gwrober]

Mirrors? That was my first thought -

[fegundez1]

a project for after my first million!

[led235]

OMG it looks like its a version of Transiberian Orchestra Laser show! TSO is awsome This idea is perfect for my tree wickedly foshizzle!

[slambo]

While looking cool, this is very dangerous to your eyes without proper protection!! Very disappointed that a company would peddle there high price items in this way.