Total internal reflection for a long time

[user3]

Imagine a square prism made from some material with such an index of refraction and surrounded by a substance of such index of refraction so that light rays entering the prism and hitting one of the internal sides of the prism at an angle of incidence 45° experience total internal reflection. And since the internally reflected light rays reflect at an angle of also 45°, and the prism is a square one (90°) ,they also get internally reflected at the adjacent side of the square prism. And this goes on until all the light is slowly absorbed by the material of the prism.I know it's the same idea as the optical fibers, but I am wondering what we would see in such a prism. Will light going in a loop show interference patterns? and if it doesn't, How bright are the trapped rays going to be combined before the first of them is absorbed ?

 

[CWatters]

Will light going in a loop show interference patterns?

See coherence in here..

http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/co...c/documents/5.3InterferenceandDiffraction.pdf

 

[user3]

Please note that in my question i assume the incident ray to be from a monochromatic source with great enough coherent time (say a very good laser ).

 

[CWatters]

Then yes you might get interference.

 

[Claude Bile]

Google "Whispering Gallery modes".

Claude.