How Big Must the Mirror Be to Focus a Megawatt per Square Meter on a Monkey?

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    Intensity Mirrors
AI Thread Summary
To focus over a megawatt per square meter on a one square centimeter area, the size of the mirror must be calculated using the intensity formula I = P / A. The discussion highlights confusion regarding the relationship between the sun's intensity and the mirror's power output. It emphasizes the need for a parabolic mirror to effectively concentrate light, although a spherical mirror is mentioned. Participants express uncertainty about how to derive the necessary area of the mirror and the impact of various parameters on the calculation. The conversation ultimately seeks clarity on the problem's requirements and the appropriate equations to use.
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Homework Statement



The EPM has finally crossed the fine line between party tricks and felonies
with the genocide of the pigmy marmoset. You are now determined to make him '
pay the price. You fashion a makeshift sherical mirror/laster beam our of a
roll of aluminum foil and a stick of bubblegum. Considering the power radiated
from the sun lands on Earth with a maximum flux of almost a kilowatt per square
meter:


How large should the surface of the mirror be, if you are to deliver over a
megawatt per square meter over a 1 square centimeter monkey-butt surface?



Homework Equations




I = P / A

The Attempt at a Solution



I have tried this several times but I don't see the link between everything. I obviously have to use I = P / A and solve for A(mirror)
 
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Just to clarify, this is a mirror and not a lens...right?
 
correct...
 
The question as i am reading isn't very clear. You would have to have a parabolic mirror to focus the light...so it would depend...unless I am missing something
 
it's a spherical mirror...specifically a concave sphere...

I know i have to use intensity but i don't know how i can relate the suns intensity to that of the mirror ; and / or power
 
Well, it would depend on the focal length of the mirror and the distance between obects
 
does the problem want a numerical answer, or an equation as a function of focal length and distance?
 
You have as much information as I do. It is all stated above. It wants to know how much area the mirror must have. hence i find the Intensity possibly very useful, since I = P / A ... but how can P be related from the sun to the mirror
 
Well, a mirror of size A=1000m^2 would obviously give you that amount of energy...but I am not sure about other parameters and how they would affect...sorry
 

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