Flat Mirror
Optical cross section of a flat mirror with a given reflectivity at a particular wavelength can be express by this formula.
Where is the cross sectional diameter of the beam. Note that the direction of the light has to be perpendicular to the mirror surface for this formula to be valid, else the return from the mirror would no longer go back to it source.
In order to maximize the return a corner reflector is used. The alignment of a corner reflector with respect to the source is not as critical as the alignment of a flat mirror.
Read more about this topic: Optical Cross Section
Famous quotes containing the words flat and/or mirror:
“But pardon, gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that hath dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I look for the new Teacher that shall follow so far those shining laws that he shall see them come full circle; shall see their rounding complete grace; shall see the world to be the mirror of the soul; shall see the identity of the law of gravitation with purity of the heart; and shall show that the Ought, that Duty, is one thing with Science, with Beauty, and with Joy.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)