[meteorite-list] OT--Mirrors to infinity

From: Popocatept_at_aol.com <Popocatept_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:03 2004
Message-ID: <114.2d227f28.2d1b3ed1_at_aol.com>

Yes, but if each mirror can only reflect back 99% of the incoming light (most
high end telescope mirrors do worse) the image will become impossibly dim
long before the 30,000th reflection.

Mike Fowler
Chicago



If two mirrors are 1 km apart you'd have to look
back to the 30,000 th reflected image to see the light
still on while the light is off, by a tenth of a
second.
 
  You also need to cut the light quickly. Bulbs are
too slow. Maybe an electric arc with a nanosecond
surge protector, as can be purchased. Deliberately
surge, and in a nanosecond the arc is off. Get a very
bright source; you are looking at 30,000 km. of
reflections.
  So using two "infinite mirror" effect mirrors as a
"time machine" to look back one tenth second and see
one light on after it is off is just barely do-able,
it would seem, using some big mirrors and a nice big
field on a dark moonless night, and careful alignment
to insure perpendicularity (the curvature of the Earth
would have to be accounted for).

Francis Graham
Received on Wed 24 Dec 2003 02:11:13 PM PST