Editing Laser pointer (section)

===Leisure and entertainment===
[[Entertainment]] is one of the other applications that has been found for lasers. Clubs, parties and outdoor concerts may use high-power lasers, with safety precautions, as a spectacle. [[Laser lighting display|Laser shows]] are often extravagant, using [[Lens (optics)|lenses]], [[mirror]]s and [[fog]].

Laser pointers are a popular plaything for pets (e.g. [[cats]], [[ferrets]] and [[dogs]]) whose natural predatory instincts are triggered by the moving laser and will chase it and/or unsuccessfully try to catch it as much as possible,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hyman |first1=Ira | author-link = Ira Hyman |title=It's Alive! Why Cats Love Laser Pointers |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-mishaps/201101/its-alive-why-cats-love-laser-pointers |website=[[Psychology Today]] |date=January 11, 2011 |access-date=June 29, 2019 }}</ref> providing entertainment for the pet owner as well.

However, laser ''pointers'' have few applications beyond actual pointing in the wider entertainment industry, and many venues ban entry to those in possession of pointers as a potential hazard. Very occasionally laser gloves, which are sometimes mistaken for pointers, are seen being worn by professional dancers on stage at shows. Unlike pointers, these usually produce low-power highly divergent beams to ensure eye safety. Laser pointers have been used as props by magicians during magic shows.

As an example of the potential dangers of laser pointers brought in by audience members, at the [[Tomorrow Land Festival]] in Belgium in 2009, laser pointers brought in by members of the audience of 200&nbsp;mW or greater were found to be the cause of eye damage suffered by several other members of the audience according to reports about the incident filed on the ILDA ([[International Laser Display Association]]'s) Web site.<ref>[http://www.laserist.org/2009-07_Belgian-incident.htm laserist.org]. laserist.org. Retrieved on 15 October 2011.</ref> The report says that the incident was investigated by several independent authorities, including the Belgium police, and that those authorities concluded that pointers brought in by the audience were the cause of the injuries.

Laser pointers can be used in [[hiking]] or [[outdoor activities]]. It can be used as a rescue signal in emergencies which is visible to aircraft and other parties, during both day and night conditions, at extreme distances. For example, during the night in August 2010 two men and a boy were rescued from marshland after their red laser pen was spotted by rescue teams.<ref>[http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=415061&SubjectId=12 UK Marine and Coastguard Agency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229133933/http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=415061&SubjectId=12 |date=29 December 2011 }}. Nds.coi.gov.uk. Retrieved on 15 October 2011.</ref>