“Light the Beam”
Sacramento Kings

Visually, it's simple. When the Kings win a game, the beam is lit and shoots up into the sky above the arena. If the Kings are at home, a player will usually take the honors of pushing the button, though celebrities such as 50 Cent have gotten involved as well. 

Scientifically, it's a bit more complicated. The beam is "made up of six total Nu-Salt Laser Space Cannons -- two blue, two red, and two green that focus together making one bright purple laser beam," said Jae Yong Suk, the associate director of the UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center. The key is that it uses lasers and not LED lights, because lasers focus the light in one single direction.

The operation uses 1,600 watts of power, and is the brightest full-color laser set-up in the world. On a very very clear night, it is very possible that the laser can reach space.

The inventor of the Laser Space Cannon and the "Light the Beam" feature for the Sacramento Kings is Tim Anderson, the president of Nu-Salt Laser Light Shows International. His company, a veteran- and woman-run business that emphasizes diversity, provided the purple laser beam on the roof of the Golden 1 Center. The beam, called the 'Laser Space Cannon,' is lit after every Kings' victory, with fans chanting, "Light the beam!"