Gas/Laser/Particle texture? in Rhino Render or Cycles

Is there a good way to express gass or particles in any of the renderer we have?

I’d like to get a good feeling of like a laser going across smoke, or say visualizing a
wave signal that you can’t see.

Would you be OK with something like:

Yep that is effect I’m looking for for the laser.

for gas, was thinking if there was say to create a shape of the gas, then have some particle texture and not just for the outside surface.