Laser Show!!!

We will be making a laser show that involves mirrors, speakers, and lasers!

Step 1: Gather Materials!

For this project you will need:

- small mirrors
- a <5mW laser (for the best effect)
- a base ( a wood, metal or plastic sheet to mount all the items
- a small computer speaker set
- a music source (phone, mp3 player)
- a screwdriver
- double-sided tape
- glue gun
- metal clip ( to hold laser)

optional: small metal clips ( to mount extra mirrors)

Comments

[dagaherz]

And what about to add a prism?!? separating colours...
Price in chinese stores are ridiculous and with this great idea...
Hummm I can get a Disco in my home!!!

[Morgantao]

A laser light is in a VERY narrow spectrum, so a red laser will still give only red light if passed through a prism.
Theoretically, If you had a white laser that contains all the colors of the rainbow, and passed it through the prism, you'd get a dancing rainbow. However, the only white laser I know that's affordable is home made with 3 lasers (Red, Green, Blue). It's kinda complicated to make, and you still won't get a rainbow effect, just 3 dots in 3 colors (Red, Green, and you guessed it, Blue).

[nwlaurie]

No colours to separate in a laser - it's famous for being monochromatic (single-coloured)!

[K4nyix]

The whole point of a laser is to be a monochromatic coherent light. That means, it's only one single wavelength, and all the waves are "synchronised". If you use a polarizing filter, the laser will even have waves all going in the same plane... Go check on wikipedia, they explain it better than I do. And although that's very interesting in physics, but will fail any kind of prism-like use :/

Though a thing I'd try and do to have this upgraded, would be to find a way to increase the angles _ in other words, to make the laser figures bigger.
That could be achieved with a bigger sound system (a subwoofer will vibrate obviously much more lol), I guess... Or maybe mounting other mirrors on vibrating surfaces, like an elastic food wrapper kind of thing mounted on a wooden frame...

Well. Anyways, very nice project, it's kinda easy and all, which is cool. If you feel like working more on it, I'd advise totally take the speakers apart and make a complete custom mount :P

[dacker]

It's nice to see this implementation. It's identical to one ideated by a college roommate in 1979. Lasers were far too expensive back then to implement.