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This is a little guide I whipped up on beam visualizing. Get ready for a whole lot of 1% substance. 
So you have your 5mW greenie. It's nice, it points at faraway trees and all, but what you really want is to see the beam.
Now, to see the beam of your laser you need to have either:
1. a nicely powerful laser
or...
2. something to visualize the beam with!
Of course, number 1 is out. Sorry mate, but 5mW ain't much. But wait! Something to visualize the beam with?
What could that possibly be?
Here is a list of things that you can use to see the lovely beam of your laser, no matter what colour it is! as long as its between 400 and 750nm
Dense and Foggy Air
Price: Free (at certain times)
Where?: Outside!
The weather conditions around where you live can affect the visibility of your laser's beam. Things such as cold dense air, moist air or foggy air are all factors that work in your favour, however: DPSS laser's don't like the cold. The temperature causes the diode to change wavelength and the crystals to move around. You might experience a loss of power or mode hopping.
Pros: Easy, cheap, lots of space to shine your laser
Cons: Depends on the weather so it's totally out of your control, you might get busted by the cops if you get frisky with your laserbeam
Vaporizer
Price: Cheap ($50 at the most)
Where?: Electronics and health stores. Use inside.
Vaporizers (or steam generators) are generally used either by potheads, people who have breathing problems, or people who snore at night. It basically works off a water tank which is lightly pumped and heated to produce a plume of steam. It works nicely in a small room. A similar effect is generated after a hot shower.
Pros: Fairly cheap, works well, very quiet, no mess, fuel is cheap
Cons: Water particles can settle on your lens if you stick around too long, excessive usage might create mold growth on your walls/ceiling
Burning Stuff
Price: Very Cheap ($2 for a pack of matches, incense, wood, what have you)
Where?: Depends. Use inside for maximum effect.
Burning stuff makes smoke. Smoke hangs nice and heavy in a room, so it works well to block your laser's beam (this is good, unless you have solid smoke, then maybe you should ease up on the burning)
THINGS YOU CAN BURN:
-Incense sticks: Cheap and easy. Makes good smoke and smells ok too.
-Matches: Especially DX matches. Light them, let them sit for a while, then blow them out. They make the most smoke when they're blown out, I find. Watch out for burning match stick bits falling on your carpet...
-Campfires: Speaks for itself, really. If you have a chimney, a good amount of smoke goes out there, too. You need to go outside for this. (shock! horror!)
-Fireworks and Explosives: Come 4th of July, there'll be lovely smoke from fireworks absolutely everywhere. Awesome. Not cheap, though.
Note: If you want to burn things on a wooden desk, take heed: it's very difficult to set fire to a treated wooden desk. However, it's very easily scorched. If, for example, a burning incense stick burns out and flops over, pick it up immediately. I learned this the hard way, I was too busy having fun with a blu-ray and a line generator.
Pros: Cheap (fireworks aside) Easy (if you have a lighter of course) Effective.
Cons: Obvious fire hazard (not a con if you're careful) Smells bad and since it hangs in the air (also a con) you're going to be smelling it for a while. It gets in your clothes too. My jacket smells like matches. :3
Fog Machine
Price: So-so (You can pick up a cheap unit at $20 from WalMart, so I hear...)
Where?: They sell them at lighting/disco stores and electronics places. Think dse, tandy
Fog machines emit a dense vapor similar to fog or smoke. Their actual purpose is to look great, so you know it's going to work great. They use a special fog juice you can buy, not just water unlike vaporizers.
Caution!: Glycol-based fog is associated with headaches, dizziness, drowsiness and tiredness in those exposed. This is because glycol has similarities to alcohol. Inhaling artificial fog can have long-term respiratory effects.
Pros: Works awesomely, can use outside and it still works good
Cons: Not cheap, possible health risks
Haze Machine
Price: Expensive (upwards of $300)
Where?: Will be difficult to find locally. Try stagecraft websites.
Haze Machines (or hazers) produce tiny droplets in the air which make your ray of light (be it a laser or whatever) visible. Haze is very thin and isn't very noticeable in normal conditions.
They are superior to fog machines in the fact that:
-Hazers use compression instead of heat, so there's no warm-up time
-Haze hangs in the air much longer than fog
-The haze is less visible but works just as well
Pros: Works epically, fantastically awesomely well (for the reasons above), better for your health
Cons: Both the unit and the juice are not widely available and rather expensive.
Aerosol Spray
Price: Inexpensive (about $20)
Where?: Off NOVA, from here, anywhere they sell deodorant. Use indoors.
Certain sprays are useful as beam visualizers. These include spray formulated to visualize beams (ala nova spray) deodorant (any spray kind will do) and smoke detector spray, designed to test how well your smoke detectors work. These are relatively inexpensive and work fairly well, though don't inhale too much of the stuff. Deodorant is a favourite among smelly, lazy people who already have the stuff.
Pros: You have to be very dim to fail at using it. Works nicely.
Cons: Deodorant causes odors of its own. That's some great product design there, folks. And don't let the smoke detector spray set off, well, your smoke detectors. ;D
So now you have a lovely visible beam with whatever you chose to use out of my list. You happy now?
Did I miss anything blindingly obvious? If not, I can has a sticky? [smiley=laugh.gif]
So you have your 5mW greenie. It's nice, it points at faraway trees and all, but what you really want is to see the beam.
Now, to see the beam of your laser you need to have either:
1. a nicely powerful laser
or...
2. something to visualize the beam with!
Of course, number 1 is out. Sorry mate, but 5mW ain't much. But wait! Something to visualize the beam with?
What could that possibly be?
Here is a list of things that you can use to see the lovely beam of your laser, no matter what colour it is! as long as its between 400 and 750nm
Dense and Foggy Air
Price: Free (at certain times)
Where?: Outside!
The weather conditions around where you live can affect the visibility of your laser's beam. Things such as cold dense air, moist air or foggy air are all factors that work in your favour, however: DPSS laser's don't like the cold. The temperature causes the diode to change wavelength and the crystals to move around. You might experience a loss of power or mode hopping.
Pros: Easy, cheap, lots of space to shine your laser
Cons: Depends on the weather so it's totally out of your control, you might get busted by the cops if you get frisky with your laserbeam
Vaporizer
Price: Cheap ($50 at the most)
Where?: Electronics and health stores. Use inside.
Vaporizers (or steam generators) are generally used either by potheads, people who have breathing problems, or people who snore at night. It basically works off a water tank which is lightly pumped and heated to produce a plume of steam. It works nicely in a small room. A similar effect is generated after a hot shower.
Pros: Fairly cheap, works well, very quiet, no mess, fuel is cheap
Cons: Water particles can settle on your lens if you stick around too long, excessive usage might create mold growth on your walls/ceiling
Burning Stuff
Price: Very Cheap ($2 for a pack of matches, incense, wood, what have you)
Where?: Depends. Use inside for maximum effect.
Burning stuff makes smoke. Smoke hangs nice and heavy in a room, so it works well to block your laser's beam (this is good, unless you have solid smoke, then maybe you should ease up on the burning
) THINGS YOU CAN BURN:
-Incense sticks: Cheap and easy. Makes good smoke and smells ok too.
-Matches: Especially DX matches. Light them, let them sit for a while, then blow them out. They make the most smoke when they're blown out, I find. Watch out for burning match stick bits falling on your carpet...
-Campfires: Speaks for itself, really. If you have a chimney, a good amount of smoke goes out there, too. You need to go outside for this. (shock! horror!)
-Fireworks and Explosives: Come 4th of July, there'll be lovely smoke from fireworks absolutely everywhere. Awesome. Not cheap, though.
Note: If you want to burn things on a wooden desk, take heed: it's very difficult to set fire to a treated wooden desk. However, it's very easily scorched. If, for example, a burning incense stick burns out and flops over, pick it up immediately. I learned this the hard way, I was too busy having fun with a blu-ray and a line generator.
Pros: Cheap (fireworks aside) Easy (if you have a lighter of course) Effective.
Cons: Obvious fire hazard (not a con if you're careful) Smells bad and since it hangs in the air (also a con) you're going to be smelling it for a while. It gets in your clothes too. My jacket smells like matches. :3
Fog Machine
Price: So-so (You can pick up a cheap unit at $20 from WalMart, so I hear...)
Where?: They sell them at lighting/disco stores and electronics places. Think dse, tandy
Fog machines emit a dense vapor similar to fog or smoke. Their actual purpose is to look great, so you know it's going to work great. They use a special fog juice you can buy, not just water unlike vaporizers.
Caution!: Glycol-based fog is associated with headaches, dizziness, drowsiness and tiredness in those exposed. This is because glycol has similarities to alcohol. Inhaling artificial fog can have long-term respiratory effects.
Pros: Works awesomely, can use outside and it still works good
Cons: Not cheap, possible health risks
Haze Machine
Price: Expensive (upwards of $300)
Where?: Will be difficult to find locally. Try stagecraft websites.
Haze Machines (or hazers) produce tiny droplets in the air which make your ray of light (be it a laser or whatever) visible. Haze is very thin and isn't very noticeable in normal conditions.
They are superior to fog machines in the fact that:
-Hazers use compression instead of heat, so there's no warm-up time
-Haze hangs in the air much longer than fog
-The haze is less visible but works just as well
Pros: Works epically, fantastically awesomely well (for the reasons above), better for your health
Cons: Both the unit and the juice are not widely available and rather expensive.
Aerosol Spray
Price: Inexpensive (about $20)
Where?: Off NOVA, from here, anywhere they sell deodorant. Use indoors.
Certain sprays are useful as beam visualizers. These include spray formulated to visualize beams (ala nova spray) deodorant (any spray kind will do) and smoke detector spray, designed to test how well your smoke detectors work. These are relatively inexpensive and work fairly well, though don't inhale too much of the stuff. Deodorant is a favourite among smelly, lazy people who already have the stuff.
Pros: You have to be very dim to fail at using it. Works nicely.
Cons: Deodorant causes odors of its own. That's some great product design there, folks. And don't let the smoke detector spray set off, well, your smoke detectors. ;D
So now you have a lovely visible beam with whatever you chose to use out of my list. You happy now?
Did I miss anything blindingly obvious? If not, I can has a sticky? [smiley=laugh.gif]
Also in stickies profanity isn't very appreciated so to increase your chances of stickydom edit out the " Where?: Outside, dumbass! " :
