Re: reflective light

From: Geoff Gigg (di874_at_ncf.ca)
Date: 12/06/04

  • Next message: Richard Bell: "Re: Nukes answer to post-oil world?" 
    Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2004 22:39:46 -0500

    On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 18:21:43 +0000, ed wrote:

    > 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

    Been having the same sort of idle thoughts - only in mine it was a sphere
    with a highly refelctive inner surface and a microscopic hole - pretty
    naive! Many more people must have had the same sort of idea, so it must be
    a non-starter or it would have happened!

    Seems like the problem in this world is not an energy shortage but a lack
    of means to store energy in a physically small, easily portable, non-
    polluting format. We have so much energy, that even an extremely
    inefficient conversion would be useful if the end result was concentrated
    enough for portability and had small losses over a long period.

    In other words, the problem is batteries, defined in it's largest sense
    as a repository for potential energy. A fuel tank is a battery. Water
    behind a dam is a battery.

    The whole premise of "The Matrix" was people as batteries - remember they
    called Neo "copper top". Made no sense to fuel the machines through feeding
    humans because why not just burn the raw feed directly? The humans were static,
    and not well insulated reservoirs. But they had to have something to hang
    the movie on.

    What do we have that's so much better? Chemical cells? Combustible
    hydro-carbons? How crude. Mechanical batteries (e.g. a wound spring)
    are too macroscopic. Capacitors are two-dimensional (surfaces). Cells and
    fuels are three dimensional to the molecular level. Still not enough
    potential energy per unit volume. Sub-atomic - fission, fusion. Too hard
    to control for mass use. The light ball? Well perhaps some variation.

    One can only hope there will be a future where such a "battery" exists.

  • Next message: Richard Bell: "Re: Nukes answer to post-oil world?"

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