Do you feel that the laser is just a desire that goes after holding it.

[Spectre Gadget]

It's the challenge of it all...

Make this device that produces X amounts of heat, light, requires y amount of voltage and current, and put it into something new and different. Then, find what components are available to support it, make the hardware that caters to all these needs, and then..... MAKE THE THING PRETTY!

Successfully pulling it off is very rewarding!

 

[maddog2099]

I've been doing this for 9 years as a professional, and for 2 years prior to that in college, I have yet to get bored with anything laser related. I don't even work with visible lasers on a daily basis, all of my work is with IR lasers, cutting, welding, and engraving. I've just discovered this community recently, and now seeing the huge advancements in diodes I am getting back into the visible light lasers for fun, and also plan on getting some others for nostalgia. One of the most memorable systems I worked with in college was a Lexel 95 Argon Ion laser and I would love to pick something like that up. Granted I can't run 3 phase from my apartment, its still for the collection aspect of things. I will most certainly pick up some HeNe's as well as those were what 80% of my college labs were completed on.

 

[sneaton]

you should find a job for your laser....i just got one to burn pests from my reef aquarium..lasers are the only way to kill almost every pest that can destroy a reef and you dont even have to get your hands wet...i was on the verge of taking my aquarium down before i found out about this technique...there is nothing like hearing the sizzle and crackles from a burning pest anemone thru 75 gallons or water,truly amazing:yh:


so set up a reef or find another way to use its potential....its a tool

 

[jeffreythe00]

Mad dog, you can run a lexel on your apartment. You'd need a cons tent flow of water and a 3 phase motor to get three phase. You wouldn't be able to run it on full power but you could at least idle it.

 

[maddog2099]

Mad dog, you can run a lexel on your apartment. You'd need a cons tent flow of water and a 3 phase motor to get three phase. You wouldn't be able to run it on full power but you could at least idle it.

Well thats good to know at least if I happen to pick one up it won't just be a paper weight

 

[MojoLA]

It's funny, every noob who ever comes in here for the first time almost always asks the same thing: "where can I get the cheapest, most incredible, high quality laser that can burn a house down from 8 miles away? And it can't cost more than $40, I saved my allowance for six months to afford that!"

Or something like that. In fact I wish there was a sticky that featured that question, it would reduce traffic here by 85%!

Anyway, it's ironic that everyone wants to get a laser to burn things when the first thing everyone learns is that after a few days burning stuff gets as old and boring as your first slot-car racing set.

It's one of those bizarre hobbys that attracts a lot of people, even though the object of desire has little to no practical value. Yes, I enjoy looking at the beam too, but if 99% of the people on this site were to be honest they would admit that they don't exactly pull out their lasers and sit there, staring at the beam every day. After you've owned it for a while it's probably not even once a week.

On the other hand, I have a big interest in laser lumia shows (basically it involves shining the laser through a piece of slowly rotating, textured glass that puts big, cool, moving nebula-like patterns on the wall).

Ever since I was a kid and went to planetarium laser shows, I fell in love with this effect and always wanted to do it at home.

Now I can! And it's not even very expensive or hard to set up (believe it or not, the hardest part is finding a good motor to spin the glass). I have my laser lumia setup in my living room and have it running just about every night, all night. It's like ambient entertainment; it's awesome to see the patterns on the wall all night and it creates just enough light to see by without having to turn on the ugly, white house lights.

Thanks to lumia, I actually have a practical need for all kinds of lasers. Naturally I want all different colors, but different power levels create different patterns, as well as focusing beams (when you change beam focus through the glass, it has a major impact on the kind of pattern that gets thrown on the wall).

The only downside is I need lasers with a 100% duty cycle that won't overheat if left on all night (and despite what people have to say about Wicked Lasers, this is something they are really good at - even my 1W arctic can be left on forever and it doesn't get hot).

Anyway, burning gets boring fast, but using lasers for art never does!

 

[TheReddish]

Personally my love of lasers is more my curiosity on how the universe works, I personally find the light mesmerizing, and it inspires me to learn more about it, Burning stuff is just icing on a well decorated cake. But The magic of EM radiation has always fascinated me, and lasers are a rare and beautiful form of it.