[Physics] Concentrating the Sun with mirrors facing each other

electromagnetic-radiationopticsreflection

What will happen if the sun is concentrated by directing sunlight to mirrors that are facing each other? i know that mirrors absorb light and dont reflect 100% but will the efficiency increase due to the multiplication of the sunlight over the multitudes of reflections? if this can be done with arrays of micro heliostats with programmable motion controllers, the reflection of the sun can be tracked and the beams within the reflections also tracked to produce an enormous amount of heat…….wont it? Isnt it going to be more efficient than this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMWIgwvbrcM ?

Best Answer

This is a variation on a theme which has been discussed many times. For example, see Strength of moonlight

The short answer is no; you cannot heat an object hotter than the temperature of the source. The advantage of multiple passes with mirrors is that you may be able to extract more energy on each pass of the light - this is often done inside the cavity of a laser, in order to extract the maximum energy from the pump beam.

But for sunlight you might do better by simply improving the absorption rate of your final collector.