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Will the light stay on and continue to bounce from mirror to mirror??

2007-01-25 08:26:02 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Physics

5 answers

Yes except it will rapidly fade to 0 since the mirror are not 100% efficient and will absorb a certain percentage of light at each bounce.

2007-01-25 08:35:10 · answer #1 · answered by catarthur 6 · 2 0

No, it will get absorbed by the mirrors (and you) pretty quickly. Mirrors aren't 100% reflective and of course you, sitting in the middle, are not very reflective. At the speed of light, the ray is going to have a LOT of bounces per second, so its probability of being absorbed is high for any significant period of time.

2007-01-25 09:02:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

In theory yes, but in practice no.
There are inefficiencies you must account for. The mirrors are not perfect reflectors; the flashlight is not a perfectly focused beam; and the room contains an atmosphere, a flashlight, and a human. There will be scattering and absorption which will diminish the reflected light until there is none observable.
If you see any of the light, you are absorbing that portion of the beam on the retina of your eyes.

2007-01-25 08:40:23 · answer #3 · answered by mary4882 4 · 1 0

If the mirrors could reflect 100%, yes, but they don't so the glass absorbs some of the light and it fades away nearly instantaneously.

2007-01-25 08:34:23 · answer #4 · answered by loon_mallet_wielder 5 · 2 0

No, energy gets absorbed on each bounce. Light travels so fast it will appear to be instantly dark.

2007-01-25 08:34:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2 0

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