• mozz
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    19 months ago

    Yes; it is well known that if you look at yourself in a flat mirror, and then back up, your reflection will spread out bigger and bigger and get dimmer and dimmer, the further away you get.

    Wait

    • @deegeese@sopuli.xyz
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      19 months ago

      “You” are the sun in this scenario.

      As you back up, you fill a smaller and smaller fraction of the mirror. The reflection becomes less sun and more space.

      • mozz
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        29 months ago

        I have a little reflective disc. I will bet you $100 that a reflection of a sunbeam off of it will be exactly the same size (i.e. the same intensity, since it’s not getting any bigger) several meters away as it is a few inches away.

        • @deegeese@sopuli.xyz
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          19 months ago

          Try that in your backyard with a small mirror. You’ll find the sun’s reflection expands by about 1% of the distance.

          • mozz
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            19 months ago

            Ooooh

            Yes you’re 100% right - it’s not a point-source, so it will expand out slightly. I don’t know the math well enough, but I believe if you if you say you do + it works out to about 1% of distance.