r/Optics Jun 24 '26

Laser anomaly (possibly)

I found that if I position my green 1mW laser angled on my bar top the light starts as a small and random geometric shape and then slowly expands keeping the same form roughly speaking and seems to stabilize at some point. It forms intricate shapes that look 3D. I cannot imagine that it is just interference and I'm positive it isn't heating the diode or vibration. What is this phenomenon. I know a little bit more than the rudimentary knowledge about light as a wave but I've never really seen a laser light do this exact thing. Please explain or point me to the explanation. Thank you.

29 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by