Art and Software
From the moment, sometime around 1976, when I first saw a red dot which
I thought was a light bulb built into a wall go scooting across the room
as somebody repositioned a HeNe laser, I have been amazed and fascinated by the existence of
optical oscillators.
Recent times have made available and affordable much interesting
hardware.
My craving to play with laser related hardware appears to have
been satisfied by the construction of this beam table, which
makes possible the combination of the output of four lasers of
various wavelengths into one beam, which looks white.
This setup makes use of a device which steers laser beams
around at high speeds and can be precisely controlled by a pair of
input signals.
Shown below is a collection of signal generators and home made circuits
that are used to control the beam table, thereby filling a room with
beautifully moving laser art.
The two steel rings visible in the picture below comprise a device
called a harmonic drive. This unusual oval shaped gear system
in combination with a regular geared down motor and an electronic
motor speed control circuit, is used to accomplish slow,
graceful kinetic lumia effects.
Art and Software