where to buy laser mirrors

Amonra

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Jan 18, 2005
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Hi all, im no expert on lasers but i konw that they use a mirroe and a semi-silvered mirror to bounce the light before it exits the semi-silvered mirror.

my question is: is the semi-silvered mirror used in lasers like the semi-silvered mirrors used in doors windows etc. ( the ones which u can see through one side but is a mirror on the other ?

if not where can one buy the semi-silvered mirror used in lasers ?
i need one approx 3 inches in diameter
 

Amonra

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Jan 18, 2005
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Malta
thanks for the feedback, i found what im looking for at casix although very expensive. i need this for an experiment iv got in mind. ill try to explain it to you maybe you could tell me if it will work before i spend $95 on a mirror:

the setup is as follows:
a front surfaced mirror at the back with a semi silvered mirror in front like a laser but with led's in between instead, maybe side emitters popping in from the side or maybe drill a few holes in the back mirror and high dome led's through them. if this would work anywhere close to how a laser works it should give the light tremendous throw.

What do you think ? anyone ever tride this before ?
 

PhotonWrangler

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[ QUOTE ]
Amonra said:
the setup is as follows:
a front surfaced mirror at the back with a semi silvered mirror in front like a laser but with led's in between instead, maybe side emitters popping in from the side or maybe drill a few holes in the back mirror and high dome led's through them. if this would work anywhere close to how a laser works it should give the light tremendous throw.

What do you think ? anyone ever tride this before ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Interesting experiment, however I think you'll see a lot of loss in the front mirror as it's only partially transparent. Essentially what you're describing is the hall-of-mirrors effect. Go to a Spencer's Gifts or similar store and look at one of those devices. You'll notice that while the images of the lamps "repeat" themselves in the mirror, the whole device doesn't really exhibit any throw at all because of the way that the multiple reflections scatter the light.

In a laser cavity you have amplification of the light; in a regular mirrored cavity illuminated with LEDs, incandescents or other types of lamps, all you really have is the attenuation from the front mirror.

If you still want to try it, you might be better off buying one of those hall-of-mirrors lamps to get the mirrored surfaces.

Scientific curiosity is a wonderful thing. Let us know how you make out. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Trader55

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Dec 2, 2004
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Amonra

In a different type of application, a glass tube was used with a front surfaced mirror on each end of the tube. The mirrors on the tube ends have to be perfectly parallel with each other, and the tube should be optically polished.

The tube is then mirrored on the outside surface. Only a "hole" {removing the silver} of the front mirror surface allows the light to escape from the tube. The back mirror being alligned to the front only lets the light escape in a very tight beam exiting the tube. Depending an the tube size and the size of the "hole" in the front mirror, the beam could be very concentrated.

I've wanted to try this for years, and wondered if putting a flat gem in line as the light exited may produce a colored beam. Such as a Ruby.

I'm not sure if my description is precise, but if you have any questions, E-mail me and I'll send a sketch of this idea.

Trader55
 

Amonra

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Jan 18, 2005
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Malta
ok iv visited sam's laser faq and there is a topic explaining why a LED cannot become a laser. mainly because a led is not a point source and is incoherent so i rethought the design since i dont want a laser but a long thrower so here it is :

a front silvered mirror with a hole in the middle through which a high dome led passes and a concave mirror with a hole in the middle facing the led at the focal distance of the concave mirror. So the light which does not come out from the led at 90 degrees will be re-focused by the concave mirror and bounced back by the rear mirror through the hole in the concave mirror. possibly a semi silvered mirror can be placed in between so that the focused light does not land on the led. Possibly all of this can be housed in a polished tube so side scatter will not be lost.

Does it make any sense ?

also can u turn incoherent light into coherent light ?
 
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