If i take many mirrors and line them up so that...?

Question

if i point a light at one, the light will reflect onto all of them, will the light be continuos if i creat a closed circle?

Answer 1

No, because some of the light's energy is lost in the collision with each mirror, and even the most focused laser has a finite (no matter how small) amount of diffusion, leading it to eventually become invisible to any arbitrarily selected detection device.

Answer 2

How to you plan on closing the circle befor the light escapes?
If you hit the 1st mirror at a particular angle. To repeat the cycle, the light from the last mirror must be parallel to the original beam, which means that if you are in the circle, you are in the way, and if you are out of the circle then there is no mirror capable of reflecting a beam parallel to the original.

Anyway, after working that detail out, you still have the inverse square law where light spreads out, not only thinning out but changing the angle at which it hits the mirror - your system leaks.

If you could make a collumnating mirror system that tightens the beam to correct for the inverse square law, and a point source that is totally consumed into light energy so as not to be a shadow in the system, and a perfectly reflecting surface, you'd have one more problem - how would you know if the beam was still bouncing around - measuring it means taking energy out of the system.

Yet another perpetual motion machine fails.
Hang in there.

~S~

Answer 3

That is a very interesting quandry. What I can add to make things a little clearer for you is that yes, you will have a closed circle. However, if you position your naked body in the centre of this circle, lying on your back, with your ankles by your ears, you can actually see your bum-bum. The ol'Brown-Eye from this perspective is both enlightening and can be quite sexy. Please forward a pic to me at once.

Answer 4

No. The light will lose energy every time it has to "bounce", and will eventually fade out.