Lasers, Diffraction Gratings, NXT

[alpharhino]

Hey Peeps,
This is a cool project using the NXT, lasers, and diffraction gratings.
What I did
1 I took some diffraction grating glasses and cut them up and built the machine shown here.


2 Shooting the laser through the gratings to get this effect.


3 Spin the motors in opposite directions and take a time exposure to achieve this effect.


Or this...

This is very cool and I urge you to try it if you can.



Just a small safety note:
When using lasers never shine it directy into someones eyes or a camera lens.
If you shine it in someones eyes there retina will be damaged in a matter of seconds
Please be responsible. Never shine it in someone's eyes.

Regards,
Ryan

[physics-matt]

Very cool indeed!

Could you give us some measurements of how far the gratings were from the projected images and how far apart the rings were? It would be fun to see whether we can calculate the diffraction grating separation! (I appreciate that's some strange meaning of the word "fun" ).

Matt

[alpharhino]

Sorry Matt,

I took apart this creation a while ago.
I also salvaged this from nxtasy.
I think the distance between the gratings was somewhere around 6 or 7 centimeters
-Ryan

[physics-matt]

Oh well. Still a nice project - thanks for sharing!

Matt

[alpharhinonxt]

Here is a video

[i-fixed-it-44]

Great Project Alph and Hey you changed your name

[physics-matt]

Like the video. It's like a high-tec version of spirograph!

Matt

[alpharhinonxt]

Thanks
You sound like my Dad.