Using a laser to light a room

[Jazlikethat]

I just got my first 50mW green laser in the mail today and I noticed that in a pitch black shining the laser at my white ceiling would illuminate the entire room to the point where one could easily function and find things and such.

What might be an effecting way to turn a laser into a room lighting device? I would like to make a stylish lighting piece that looks cool but also to have fore the early morning when one's eyes are still sensative to light and a nice green glow would be perfect, as opposed to a harsh lightbulb.

 

[Switch]

Well it would have to be cooled decently.You could probably have a module pointing upward and a silent fan cooling it.It would also be recomended to have it fixed well enough not to get knocked over and shine into someones eyes by accident.I would imagine somewhere on the wall , high enough so there's no danger of your eyes or something reflective getting in the way of the beam.

You could also use a red laser for a more romantic ambience

 

[Cyparagon]

Assuming it's up to spec., that's 30 lumens. Why not use a small LED flashlight? What's the point of having color vision if your light source is monochromatic?

 

[silvercookie]

its just to make things more interesting.
and a white led light is still alot harsher than a green light

 

[Swordofsalvation]

umm...actually, id say that green light is hrasher...being that green is the most visible color of light

 

[RA_pierce]

You know what is a neat effect to light up a room?
Shining a bright green laser (>50mW) at a fluorescent target. Pink hi-liters will glow bright orange. It enables you to see better because it is less harsh than green and provides a wider spectrum for viewing objects (You will be able to see red-oranges to greens!).
Also, you don't get as much of the speckle effect which is sometimes disorienting.
Just be careful not to burn the object you're pointing at.
A large heatsink and a reliable power supply (cell phone charger modified to power the laser?) would be better than a battery powered one... especially if you want to incorporate a fan.

 

[Jimmymcjimthejim]

I just got my first 50mW green laser in the mail today and I noticed that in a pitch black shining the laser at my white ceiling would illuminate the entire room to the point where one could easily function and find things and such.

What might be an effecting way to turn a laser into a room lighting device? I would like to make a stylish lighting piece that looks cool but also to have fore the early morning when one's eyes are still sensative to light and a nice green glow would be perfect, as opposed to a harsh lightbulb.

You should look into getting a green LED, it'll function more efficiently and won't be as dangerous or expensive.

 

[RA_pierce]

You should look into getting a green LED, it'll function more efficiently and won't be as dangerous or expensive.

But not as cool

 

[Cyparagon]

This green LED is as bright as an 11Watt laser spot.

 

[Switch]

This green LED is as bright as an 11Watt laser spot.

lol , I think that's pretty harsh

Btw, this is probably more for the cool factor than maximum practicality.

 

[ThunderBird89]

Get some uranium marbles, and pump them with blu-rays or UV, they should light up pretty green, and that would be the penultimate in cool, lighting your room with uranium

don't worry, they're not hot, they aren't that enriched...

 

[Jazlikethat]

I think the most efficient thing for me to do will get a light bulb and incorporate it into some sort of stand device that draws from a 120V AC . . .

Just kidding . Switch, Pierce, and Silvercookie get it what I'm going for!

It would take more electrical know-how than I have at the moment, but I think a cool lamp would be a base that shoots a ~50mW laser up from it into a suspended uranium marble. One would have to somehow get their head in between the marble and the base to see directly into the laser, and the base could incorporate a fan and heat sink. With the right tools and design this could be really classy . With a good transformer the fan and the laser could both be powered by a wall socket.

What's the point of having color vision if your light source is monochromatic?

We see in color all day, that just gets old

 

[sad_sagi]

my 5mw dx greenie will light a whole room when you point it at a white ceiling. it might be putting out 15mw or so, but the green ones are still cool for doing that. not sure what use it is but you might be able to make a trippy lamp to diffuse the light...

 

[ThunderBird89]

Better yet, while slighly (much) more dangeorus, you could hang several marbles around the room, and light up sepcific areas by pointing the laser at the one needed

Although this would put one's eyes at risk, but the effect, especially if it's automated, would be priceless

 

[Cyparagon]

10 lumens lights up a whole room, huh? So a 60W bulb will sufficiently illuminate an entire department store.

 

[Xer0]

While testing my DX "Heatsink with 70mW Red Laser" ... 60sec exposure.