Light beam

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Light beam

in Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea was instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent development as a trading centre....
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
.]] A light beam or beam of light is a narrow projection
Projection

Projection can be any of:* The display of an image by devices such as:**Movie projector**Video projector**Overhead projector**Slide projector...
of light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
energy radiating from a source into a beam
Beam

Beam may refer to:*Beam , a construction element*Beam , the most extreme width of a nautical vessel, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length...
. Sunlight
Sunlight

Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectroscopy of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is Filter ed through the Earth's atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon....
is a natural example of a light beam when filtered through various mediums (cloud
Cloud

A cloud is a visible mass of Drop or frozen crystals floating in the Celestial body atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another planetary body....
s, foliage, window
Window

File:OldShipWindows.jpgA window is an opening in a wall that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparency or translucent material....
s, etc). To artificially produce a light beam, a lamp
Lamp (electrical component)

A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture....
and a parabolic reflector
Parabolic reflector

A parabolic reflector is a parabola-shaped Mirror device, used to collect or distribute energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Parabolic reflectors are used to collect energy from a distant source and bring it to a common Focus , thus correcting spherical aberration found in simpler spherical reflectors....
is used in many lighting
Lighting

File:Gare de l'Est Paris 2007 033.jpgLighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight....
devices such as spotlights
Stage lighting instrument

Stage lighting instruments are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatre productions, rock concerts and other performances taking place in live performance Theater s....
, car headlights, PAR Cans
Parabolic aluminized reflector light

A parabolic aluminized reflector luminare, or PAR light, is a stage lighting fixture widely used in theatre, concerts and motion picture film production when a substantial amount of flat lighting is required for a scene....
and LED
Light-emitting diode

A light-emitting diode , is an electronic light source. The LED was discovered in the early 20th century, and introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962....
housings.

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in Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea was instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent development as a trading centre....
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong

Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located in Southern China in East Asia, bordering the province of Guangdong to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east, west and south....
.]]
A light beam or beam of light is a narrow projection
Projection

Projection can be any of:* The display of an image by devices such as:**Movie projector**Video projector**Overhead projector**Slide projector...
of light
Light

Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is Visible spectrum to the human eye , or up to 380?750 nm. In the broader field of physics, light is sometimes used to refer to electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not....
energy radiating from a source into a beam
Beam

Beam may refer to:*Beam , a construction element*Beam , the most extreme width of a nautical vessel, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length...
. Sunlight
Sunlight

Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectroscopy of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is Filter ed through the Earth's atmosphere, and the solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon....
is a natural example of a light beam when filtered through various mediums (cloud
Cloud

A cloud is a visible mass of Drop or frozen crystals floating in the Celestial body atmosphere above the surface of the Earth or another planetary body....
s, foliage, window
Window

File:OldShipWindows.jpgA window is an opening in a wall that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparency or translucent material....
s, etc). To artificially produce a light beam, a lamp
Lamp (electrical component)

A lamp is a replaceable component such as an incandescent light bulb, which is designed to produce light from electricity. These components usually have a base of ceramic, metal, glass or plastic, which makes an electrical connection in the socket of a light fixture....
and a parabolic reflector
Parabolic reflector

A parabolic reflector is a parabola-shaped Mirror device, used to collect or distribute energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Parabolic reflectors are used to collect energy from a distant source and bring it to a common Focus , thus correcting spherical aberration found in simpler spherical reflectors....
is used in many lighting
Lighting

File:Gare de l'Est Paris 2007 033.jpgLighting is the deliberate application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight....
devices such as spotlights
Stage lighting instrument

Stage lighting instruments are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatre productions, rock concerts and other performances taking place in live performance Theater s....
, car headlights, PAR Cans
Parabolic aluminized reflector light

A parabolic aluminized reflector luminare, or PAR light, is a stage lighting fixture widely used in theatre, concerts and motion picture film production when a substantial amount of flat lighting is required for a scene....
and LED
Light-emitting diode

A light-emitting diode , is an electronic light source. The LED was discovered in the early 20th century, and introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962....
housings. Light from certain types of laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
has the smallest possible beam divergence
Beam divergence

The beam divergence of an electromagnetic beam is an angular measure of the increase in beam diameter with distance from the Aperture or antenna aperture from which the electromagnetic beam emerges....
, thus producing the most parallel light beams possible.

Visible light beams
From the side, a beam of light is only visible if part of the light is scattered by objects: tiny particles like dust
Dust

Dust is a general name for minute solid particles with diameters less than 20 Thou . Particles in the Earth's atmosphere arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind, volcanic eruptions, and pollution....
, water droplets (mist
Mist

Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in Exhalationd air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna....
, fog
Fog

Fog is a cloud bank that is in contact with the ground. A cloud may be considered partly fog; for example, the part of a cloud that is suspended in the air above the ground is not considered fog, whereas the part of the cloud that comes in contact with higher ground is considered fog....
, rain
Rain

Rain is liquid precipitation . On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into droplet heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface....
), hail
Hail

Hail is a form of Precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice . Hailstones on Earth usually consist mostly of ice and measure between 5 and 150 millimeters in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms....
, snow
Snow

Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of this precipitation is called snowfall....
, or smoke
Smoke

File:Bling-Bling Skywriting David Shankbone.jpgSmoke is the collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrainment or otherwise mixed into the mass....
, or larger objects such as bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s. If there are many objects in the light path, then it appears as a continuous beam, but if there are only a few objects, then the light is visible as a few individual bright points. In any case, this scattering of light from a beam, and the resultant visibility of a light beam from the side, is known as the Tyndall effect
Tyndall effect

The Tyndall effect is an effect of light scattering by colloid particles or particles in Suspension . It is named after the 19th century Irish scientist John Tyndall....
.

Visibility from the side as side-effect

Flashlight
Flashlight

A flashlight is a portable electric searchlight which emits light from a small incandescent lightbulb, or from one or more light-emitting diodes ....
- beam directed by hand
Headlight - forward beam; the lamp is mounted in a vehicle, or on the forehead of a person, e.g. built into a helmet
Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries, a variation of the hat. The oldest use of helmets was by Ancient Greek soldiers, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from sword blows and arrows....
Lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
- beam sweeping around horizontally
Searchlight
Searchlight

A searchlight is an apparatus with reflectors for projecting a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction,...
- beam directed at something

Visibility from the side as purpose
For the purpose of visibility of light beams from the side, sometimes a haze machine
Haze machine

Haze machines, or haze generators , are small to mid-sized effects machines similar to fog machines, designed to produce an unobtrusive, homogeneous clouds suspended in the air intended primarily to make light beams visible....
or fog machine
Fog machine

A fog machine is a device which emits a dense vapor that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog or smoke is typicly known as theatrical smoke and fog within the entertainment industry....
is used. The difference between the two is that the fog itself is also a visual effect.

*Laser lighting display
Laser lighting display

A laser lighting display or laser light show involves the use of laser light to entertain an audience. A laser light show may consist only of projected laser light beam set to music, or may accompany another form of entertainment, typically a rock concert or other musical performance....
- Laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
beams are often used for visual effects, often in combination with music.
Searchlights are often used in advertising
Advertising

Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to Purchasing or to consume more of a particular brand of Product or Service ....
, for instance by automobile
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
dealers; the beam of light is visible over a large area, and (at least in theory) interested persons can find the dealer or store by following the beam to its source. This also used to be done for movie
Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
premiere
Premiere

A premiere is generally "a first performance." This can refer to dramas, films, television programs, and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much Mass media attention....
s; the waving searchlight beams are still to be seen as a design element in the logo of the 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, or simply Fox, is one of the six Worldwide major film studios....
movie studio
Movie studio

A movie studio is, in the established sense of the term, a film distributor. Literally, however, the term denotes a controlled environment for the making of a film....
.

See also

Crepuscular rays
Crepuscular rays

Crepuscular rays, in Earth's atmosphere optics are Ray of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky. These rays, which stream through gaps in clouds or between other objects, are columns of sunlit air separated by darker cloud-shadowed regions....
Ray (optics)
Ray (optics)

In optics, a ray is an idealized narrow beam of light. Rays are used to model the propagation of light through an optical system, by dividing the real light field up into discrete rays that can be computationally propagated through the system by the techniques of Ray tracing ....
Laser
Laser

A laser is a device that emits light through a process called stimulated emission. The term laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....
Lighthouse
Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens or, in older times, from a fire and used as an aid to navigation and to Maritime pilot at sea....
Sunbeam
Sunbeam

Sunbeam may refer to:* Sunlight* Crepuscular rays, rays of sunlight that appear to radiate from a single point in the sky In business:...

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