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SPECULATIVE SCIENCE
If you shine a light into a mirror, does the fact that the light is reflected back mean that you are effectively doubling the amount of light in the room? If so, couldn't the energy problem be at least partially solved by filling rooms with mirrors? If not, why not?
Mark Lloyd, Bath UK
- A room lined with mirrors would be more brightly lit than one lined with the usual mixture of wallpaper, wood, windows, etc. The mirrors would reflect most of the light falling on to them back into the room, whereas wallpaper absorbs most of the light reaching it. This would mean that someone reading the Guardian in a mirrored room with a 60 watt bulb would see the page as more brightly lit than in a normal room with the same bulb. However, the difference would be slight if the room was normally furnished as usual with chairs, carpets, cats, etc. It would have even less effect on the energy crisis as a lot of energy is used for things like cooking, cleaning, computers, etc. and not just for lighting.
Robin Wilson,
- Although you may not actually double the light, your eyes get two goes at it, or even more, so the room does appear lighter. In the past candles and lamps often had polished metal reflectors behind them or were installed in front of mirrors for precisely this effect, the room seemed lighter without any extra expense or heat (candles and oil lamps generate quite a lot of heat)
Susan Deal, Sheffield UK
- Yes - this is the technology used in lighthouses, most flashlights, and your car headlights. You're not creating more light, as has already been said, just re-directing it back into the space you want lit.
Liz, Samoia, US
- The combination of (AgNO3 + NH3 + C12H22O11 + NaOH) create a reflective absorption surface capable of creating an exact opposite image by a 180° view. Depending on the perspective of an individual viewer it will appear as if one can view such distance as one would physically. In these areas of the surface are what allow light to absorb and and reflect emitting a wider range of light, herein giving the semblance of "more" light.
Zyan Kol, Pumbaya Malta
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