Re: reflective light

From: Bob Eldred (nsmontassoc_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 12/05/04 

Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 17:21:48 GMT

"ed" <edramshaw@funksoulproductions.com> wrote in message
news:db80ca78.0412041821.4b0e707e@posting.google.com...
> Let me prefice this by saying I am not a scientist. I have tendecees
> but I am way too unorganized to gather enough details to prove
> anything.
>
> I always had this idea and was about to expirement when I came up with
> a few things in this forum but none really address the issues. I was
> wondering if anyone could help.
>
> I hear there is no such thing as one way mirrors, that more accurate
> descripition would be partially reflective mirrors so this will weigh
> in but here goes.
>
> Theoratically what would happen if I constructed a 3" cube out of one
> way mirrors and:
>
> 1) Shined a lightsource such as a flash light into the box?
>
> 2) Mounted a bright led light in the center of 3" cube constructed of
> standard mirror glass and illuminated it?
>
> 3) Shined a more concentrated form of light such as a laser into the
> cube?
>
>
> At first thought I would think that question 1 would result in an
> "implosion" of light due to the constant re-reflection of light. This
> energy could then be harnessed to produce electricity. If the one way
> mirror is really only partially reflective on both sides than
> something should still happen.
>
> Without taking up too much of anyones time, I think you get the idea.
> The thought is that something should happen if light can be introduced
> to a closed and inwardly relfective area. Does anyone have any
> insight?
>
> Ed Ramshaw

What you have described in a somewhat contorted way is the green house
effect. In simple terms, light goes through glass and falls on enclosed
surfaces. Light once absorbed, like all energy degrades into heat. The
enclosed material therefore gets hot and re-radiates the heat as infared
energy. This bounces all around but can't get back out through the glass
because the glass is opaque to the infared wavelengths. So, the heat builds
up and the temperature rises. We're all familiar with this, it happens to
any car left in the sun with the windows rolled up. Note that ordinary glass
and many plastics are "one way mirrors" of a sort, they are transparent to
visible light and opaque to infared light. Visible light goes in and heat
can't get out. As I'm sure you have heard, Carbon Dioxide in the earths
atmosphere does a similar thing and is implicated in gobal warming because,
like glass, carbon dioxide is more or less opaque to infared radiation while
letting the visible through.
Bob

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