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I would have to some-what agree with David Savory about not getting caught up in showing laser beams just because they are so beautiful. I bought my first laser 30 years ago and had have never stopped being transfixed by that twinkling of scattered coherent light. Lasers are just tools. If a laser is the best tool for the job then use one. 

If the maze is already a done deal I would suggest the following as a way to make the most of it.

Follow the suggestion of using a line generator. The line gets projected along the floor of the maze and the paths are then visible.  If not already using a green laser, switch to one. A low power green laser will be much more visible than red. 

Smoke or fog are each problematic. You know about smoke. Fog/water vapor does more than just make mirrors damp. It can also get into the electronics of the laser and it also scatters light causing the laser to "drop off" that much faster. As it is for each mirror you are losing maybe 4-6% of the light. It's fine for demos but not an exhibit operating hours each day.

Along those lines, if you are using first surface mirrors design them to be easily swapped out. A few months of cleaning (even carefully) will degrade them too much.

Also be careful of the power level. I made holograms and played with lasers for many years. The old rule of thumb was that up to 5 milliwatts the eye's normal twitch response was adequate to prevent injury. Between 5-10 mws you wanted to be a bit more careful. But above 10mws it could be harmful. Also cheap laser diodes can put out higher powers in the infrared, that are dangerous but you can't see it. Be cautious buying surplus or second market products.

--
Erich Rose
Exhibit, Environmental and Industrial Design
807 The Living End
Austin, TX 78746
512-626-9930; [log in to unmask]

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