ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Laser harp

A laser harp is like a magical instrument that you play by waving your hands over beams of light. It's kind of like playing an invisible guitar made of laser beams!

Imagine that you are standing in front of a big box with lots of little lasers all lined up next to each other, pointing up towards the sky. When you wave your hand through the lasers, you block some of the beams and they stop shining. The laser harp is smart and can tell which lasers you blocked and which ones you left alone.

The laser harp then makes some noise – like a guitar string being plucked – for each beam you blocked. So, if you blocked five lasers, you would hear five plucks. Depending on how you wave your hands, you can block different lasers and make different sounds.

Some laser harps have special effects to make the sounds extra cool, like changing the volume or making the notes last longer. So, when you play the laser harp, you're not just waving your hands around, you're making beautiful music that everyone loves to hear!
Related topics others have asked about: