Haze machine
Encyclopedia
Fog machine
A fog machine or smoke machine is a device which emits a dense vapour that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications, but smaller, more affordable fog machines are becoming common for personal use. Fog machines can also be...
s, designed to produce an unobtrusive, homogeneous
Homogeneous (chemistry)
A substance that is uniform in composition is a definition of homogeneous. This is in contrast to a substance that is heterogeneous.The definition of homogeneous strongly depends on the context used. In Chemistry, a homogeneous suspension of material means that when dividing the volume in half, the...
clouds suspended in the air intended primarily to make light beam
Light beam
A light beam or beam of light is a narrow projection of light energy radiating from a source into a beam. Sunlight is a natural example of a light beam when filtered through various mediums...
s visible or create a subtle diffusion.
Properties
Unlike theatrical fogTheatrical smoke and fog
Theatrical smoke and fog, also known as special effect smoke, fog or haze, is a category of atmospheric effects used in the entertainment industry. The use of fog can be found throughout motion picture and television productions, live theatre, concerts, at nightclubs and raves, amusement and theme...
, which is typically intended to be dense and/or opaque, haze is generally very light and subtle. These properties allows a venue to be filled with haze prior to or during an event without creating an overtly distracting cloud. Haze typically has a substantially longer persistence ("hang time") than conventional theatrical fog. While conventional fog will hang in the air for several minutes, a haze effect filling the same volume of space can last upwards of an hour to several hours or more, depending on the size of the venue and the amount of ventilation
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to provide high indoor air quality...
.
The fluid used in haze machines to generate the effects are either oil or water-based. Most oil-based haze fluids use a mineral oil
Mineral oil
A mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of alkanes in the C15 to C40 range from a non-vegetable source, particularly a distillate of petroleum....
base, while water-based fluids use either a glycol or glycerol
Glycerol
Glycerol is a simple polyol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is widely used in pharmaceutical formulations. Glycerol has three hydroxyl groups that are responsible for its solubility in water and its hygroscopic nature. The glycerol backbone is central to all lipids...
base. Although both formulations of fluid are referred to as haze fluid, the different formulations are neither compatible nor interchangeable. Glycol/water haze fluid is sometimes referred to as "water based haze" for the purposes of disambiguation.
Crackers
Crackers (also known as "oil crackers") were first developed in the 1960 and the fluid is usually, though not always, refined mineral oil. Crackers work by use a spray pump powered either by electricity or compressed CO2 passing through a dispersion head into a fluid reservoir. The compressed air aerosolAerosol
Technically, an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Examples are clouds, and air pollution such as smog and smoke. In general conversation, aerosol usually refers to an aerosol spray can or the output of such a can...
s the fluid, dispersing fine droplets. Because the haze is mechanically generated, this type of machine does not require any warm up time.
Pump spray
Pump spray haze machines use electricity or compressed CO2 to power a spray pump connected to a mixing valve, which draws in and atomizes the fluid.Pump hazers also includes machines which function in the same manner as a fog machine
Fog machine
A fog machine or smoke machine is a device which emits a dense vapour that appears similar to fog or smoke. This artificial fog is most commonly used in professional entertainment applications, but smaller, more affordable fog machines are becoming common for personal use. Fog machines can also be...
, pumping fluid into a heated chamber where it is vapourized to produce a cloud. Hazers which heat fluid to create an atmospheric effect only use mixtures of water and glycol or glycerine. Spray hazers which atomize fluid can use either a water-based or mineral oil fluid.
Aerosol
Smaller volumes of haze can also be generated from aerosol canisters containing mineral oil under pressure. Although to the density of haze generated and the volume of space that can be filled is significantly smaller than that of a haze machine, aerosol canisters have the advantages of portability, no requirements for electricity and finer control over the volume of haze generated.
Ultrasonic
Ultrasonic haze machines use transducerTransducer
A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. Energy types include electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic , chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer commonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a...
s submerged in a reservoir of fluid to create atmospheric effects. Although less common than some of the other technologies used to produce haze, ultrasonic hazers are promoted as generating their effects with much less noise than other technologies.