Suppose I have a completely cylindrical surface which is silvered on the inside. I want to know what type of reflection takes place when an object is placed inside the ring.
Does infinite reflections take place like in the case of two parallel mirrors? If it does take place, since the reflections are formed on concentric circles whose radius gets bigger, does magnification take place?
Finally, what will happen to the image(s) when the object is placed away from the center of the cylinder?
Best Answer
The answer depends entirely on the size of the object, and its location. Light that emanates from the axis will be reflected back to the axis - but if it starts out not normal to the axis, it will return at a different point along the axis. Light that starts out off-axis will be reflected at constant angle, and continue to pass at a certain distance from the axis on each subsequent reflection.
It's definitely more complex than two parallel mirrors.