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Trick of the Light
By Tim Hayes
Tommy can you see me?
Stadium rock and laser displays go together like heavy and metal, and when The Who took the stage at the VH1 Rock Honors show last month in Los Angeles, they did so backed up by some serious laser fire power.
According to Lighting & Sound International, the contract for supplying the lasers at the show went to California’s YLS Lasers, who employed “three high-power YAG laser projectors, five optic-fed remote scanners, three table scanners and over thirty stage mirror placements to give lighting designer Tom Kenny and The Who what they were looking for.”
YLS handles the laser displays for a whole range of public events, including stunt shows, corporate events, parades, amusement parks and casinos. Which proves that not only are lasers still considered a fine way to liven up a public shindig, but also that some photonics professionals have all the fun.
I wonder about the connection between this sector of the laser economy and the kind of laser science you can read about on this site. Advances in laser technology are happening all the time, all over the world; we write about them every day. Does this feed through into changes in the kind of lasers and optical effects you can witness at public displays these days? Does anyone know?
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