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› Why can't I reflect light infinitely?
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Why can't I reflect light infinitely? (Read 1777 times)
Nov 2
nd
, 2011 at 11:00pm
Webb
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Morningwood Golf Resort
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I put a LED night light in the bathroom so I don't have to turn the light on every time I go in there.
I have noticed that the light reflects in the mirror so I can see 2 night lights.
Hmmm, why can't I put mirrors on every wall (other than it would look like a whorehouse) and reflect the light over and over and over again infinitely?
Something tells me there is a basic law of physics that would prevent this - something like laws against perpetual motion.
So college kids (I rank this a little above high school physics and I hope I'm right because I don't remember learning it in high school) - why can't I put mirrors all over the walls and ceiling and magnify a 3w night light into 300 watts?
A bad day at golf is better than a good day at work.
Jim
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Reply #1 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 4:40am
Xpand
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There isn't any law that stops you from doing that except for the decay of the light intensity at the square of the distance it travels. So, if you had a very intense light you could light up the room, IF the mirrors you had could scatter the light, otherwise you'd have a laser beam that wouldn't light up anything.
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Last Edit: Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 8:51am by Xpand
»
Up is the way to go.
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Reply #2 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 3:39pm
ozzy72
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Pretty scary huh?
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Reply #3 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 4:38pm
Steve M
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I think you would need some super magnets like the Large Hadron Collider has. Acme supply has marketed such magnets.
Another thought crosses my mind, as soon as you enter the room that has the source of light you might disrupt the refraction of light and the house might go dark.
Flying with twins is a lot of fun..
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Reply #4 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 5:41pm
Bud Greene
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Webb wrote
on Nov 2
nd
, 2011 at 11:00pm:
Hmmm, why can't I put mirrors on every wall (other than it would look like a whorehouse)...
I fail to see the problem here...
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Reply #5 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 5:46pm
patchz
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IN THE FUNNY PAPERS
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Bud Greene wrote
on Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 5:41pm:
Webb wrote
on Nov 2
nd
, 2011 at 11:00pm:
Hmmm, why can't I put mirrors on every wall (other than it would look like a whorehouse)...
I fail to see the problem here...
Best reply!!!!!
If God intended aircraft engines to have horizontally opposed engines, Pratt and Whitney would have made them that way.
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Reply #6 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 6:47pm
Ang2dogs
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patchz wrote
on Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 5:46pm:
Bud Greene wrote
on Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 5:41pm:
Webb wrote
on Nov 2
nd
, 2011 at 11:00pm:
Hmmm, why can't I put mirrors on every wall (other than it would look like a whorehouse)...
I fail to see the problem here...
Best reply!!!!!
This is why I make sure to swallow what I'm drinking before I open a thread, cause you never know
what's
going to make you bust a gut!
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Reply #7 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 7:44pm
TacitBlue
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This has been a very funny thread so far!
But on a serious note, please keep in mind that I'm not a physicist or expert in anything, especially light reflection. BUT, it seems to me that that wouldn't work, because it does not increase the AMOUNT of light, it just redirects it. for example, if you put a mirror on the wall opposite of the LED, then instead some of the light reflecting from the wall (allowing you to see it) and some of it being absorbed by the wall, all of it is reflected and simply redirected to another area where some of it will be reflected and some will be absorbed. It doesn't matter how much you bounce it around, you only have so much light to work with.
A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y
Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB
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Reply #8 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 8:00pm
Xpand
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That's because, in order to iluminate large surfaces you have to diffuse the light using a non-flat surface, like white fabric from shirts.
The only way you could illuminate a whole room with only a source of light is by using the an intense source of light and place it at the center of the room. Then cover the walls in pure white paint with with a cement like rugosity in order to scatter the light.
you see the paralel incident rays (blue) and the green reflected rays not paralel. That's the secret of diffusion and it allows you to illuminate large surface areas from a smaller light source.
Up is the way to go.
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Reply #9 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 8:11pm
Steve M
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Cambridge On.
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I'll give this one more shot before I have to turn the lights out. And it agrees with Xpand and Tacit. The only way that light could amplify is with polished convex mirrors directed at each other but still using a source of radiation. Basically a laser, in a whorehouse of course.
Flying with twins is a lot of fun..
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Reply #10 -
Nov 3
rd
, 2011 at 10:35pm
Webb
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Go 'Noles!
Morningwood Golf Resort
Posts: 1068
What a hoot. I'll have to see if I can come up with more stupid questions (involving whorehouses of course).
A bad day at golf is better than a good day at work.
Jim
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Reply #11 -
Nov 4
th
, 2011 at 3:54pm
machineman9
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Nantwich, England
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Inverse square rule... Mythbusters tested an alternative way of maximum diffusion using mirrors to light an otherwise pitch black room, but it's very hard.
If you double the distance of the light, it quarters its intensity. Incidently, we calculated in physics that you could read your newspaper on Pluto - Because despite the inverse square rule, there is enough light there to be equivalent to being 50cm from a 60W bulb. So now you know!
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Reply #12 -
Nov 4
th
, 2011 at 7:43pm
Jayhawk Jake
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Wichita, KS
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I'm willing to bet it also has to do with reflectivity, as in a mirror does not reflect 100% of the light that shines on it. It's probably close to 100%, but anything off and after a while it will dissipate
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*The opinions expressed above are my own and are in no way representative of fact or opinion of any other person, corporation, or company.*
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Reply #13 -
Nov 4
th
, 2011 at 10:03pm
machineman9
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Nantwich, England
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Jayhawk Jake wrote
on Nov 4
th
, 2011 at 7:43pm:
I'm willing to bet it also has to do with reflectivity, as in a mirror does not reflect 100% of the light that shines on it. It's probably close to 100%, but anything off and after a while it will dissipate
About 85-90% for a typical aluminium mirror. Some light will be absorbed as heat, some light will be diffused, some will probably be refracted or lost by not being withheld by total internal refraction.
It's not a bad idea to have mirrors everywhere, but I imagine white walls would be more effective and not as painful to look at. (Not saying they aren't boring though
)
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Reply #14 -
Nov 4
th
, 2011 at 10:55pm
Club508
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I like repainting aircraft!
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Oh boy, I'm a science junkie here!
Time to have som e fun explaining my theories in the morninig!
Ya know.... Along with that, maybe I should post some of my random theories that
may
prove current ones wrong. (I've got some good facts to back em' up too amazingly)
Let's say, if I do, prepare for a mirage of theories on why the sky is blue, vacuum, fire, energy, E=mc
2
, and I'll have to dig through my binder to find what else.
I'm insane... I know.......... But it's fun.
MWAAAH!!! AH AH AH AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
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