Can Light Be Trapped Between Mirrors and Is There Energy Loss?

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Trapping light between mirrors is theoretically possible, but practical limitations exist due to imperfections in mirror surfaces that cause energy loss. Total internal reflection, as seen in optical fibers, demonstrates how light can be guided, but mirrors cannot achieve perfect reflection angles. When two mirrors are placed opposite each other, reflections diminish over time due to these imperfections. The discussion suggests that while current technology cannot create perfect mirrors for trapping light indefinitely, theoretical frameworks exist that could allow for such a phenomenon. Energy loss remains a significant factor in any practical attempt to trap light.
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can we trap light?

hi every body
i read about Optical fiber and how light is reflecting inside wire by the principle of Total internal reflection and I wonder, is it possible to trap light between mirrors and if yes,then is it going to be an energy losses ??
:confused:
 
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I don't think we can trap light because there can't be perfect angle so that light could come in and don't come out
 


Between normal mirrors that we can produce with todays technology, there will always be losses, you can see this when you hold two mirrors opposite each other, in theory the reflections should go on for ever, but in practice they curve away due to imperfections in the mirror.

However, I don't think that there is anything (theoretically) stopping someone from trapping light in that way.
 


Thank you for replying

but how the mirror will arrange to make it theoretically possible ?
 
I would like to use a pentaprism with some amount of magnification. The pentaprism will be used to reflect a real image at 90 degrees angle but I also want the reflected image to appear larger. The distance between the prism and the real image is about 70cm. The pentaprism has two reflecting sides (surfaces) with mirrored coating and two refracting sides. I understand that one of the four sides needs to be curved (spherical curvature) to achieve the magnification effect. But which of the...

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