When mst people think of laser technology, they would think of lasers are only used in the industrial business. But most people don’t know is that laser are used in various industry including the military, healthcare, science, arts and entertainment. Today, let’s focus on the lasers used in the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry uses lasers for a variety of purposes including producing fabulous "light shows" and digital film writing to DVDs. Below are a few examples of how the entertainment industry puts lasers to use for your enjoyment:

.  Laser light shows - Laser light shows are spectacular light shows set to music. Using visible light laser beams, these shows have wowed audiences since the late 1960s. Rock bands often use lasers extensively during concerts, creating lavish light shows that correspond with music. According to Coherent, both solid state green-light lasers and high power Taipan lasers which offer a broad palette of color are well suited for laser light shows.

.  CDs / DVDs - The compact disc, or CD, dramatically transformed the music industry when it first arrived. Instead of vinyl records and magnetic tape, music was packaged on small discs. CDs are capable of storing far more music than their predecessors while also being more reliable and sounding much better. DVDs soon followed, a format perfectly suited for movies and data. Both CDs and DVDs use laser light to "read" the reflective surface of the disc.

.  Holograms - Holography is a graphic arts discipline that uses lasers to create images that have a three dimensional appearance. Though early forms of holography used non-laser generated light to create holograms, most holograms today are produced with lasers. In order to create a hologram, a laser beam is directed at the object. However, the beam is split into two and redirected using mirrors. These two beams reflect off the object and onto photographic film simultaneously. The resulting image has a three dimensional effect.

.  Hollywood special effects - Lasers have also been used to create special effects in movies (though the laser beams you actually see on film are not real laser beams). For example, according to Science Clarified's chapter on lasers in entertainment, special effects artists working on Jurassic Park 3 used lasers to scan and transfer the details of a small clay dinosaur model into a computer where animators later manipulated the images using animation software.

The advancement of technology has helped made music and movies possible. Lasers are used both to create entertainment and deliver it. The next time you watch a movie or laser light show, take a moment to appreciate the power of light. Without laser technology, we are not able to enjoy the special effects that makes the movie exciting or make the light show magical.

Works Cited:

1. Science Clarified, "Lasers in Entertainment," - http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Lasers/Lasers-in-Entertainment.html  

2. Coherent, "Graphic Arts and Display," - http://www.coherent.com/Applications/index.cfm?fuseaction=Forms.page&PageID=254