From Nathan: i am trying to find the equation for a mirror for a laser experiment. the mirror is parabolic but my question is how do you find the equation when you know only the focus and the diameter the mirror diameter is 520 mm and the focus is at 1024 mm. would you just use the measurements in the equation instead of "nice numbers" or what. Answered by Penny Nom.
From Andy White: I am working on a project concerning parabolic mirrors. I need to create a mirror to focus sunlight on a focal point, but I don't know how to do it. Is there some equation that tells where a focal point will be in relation to a parabola?
From Katherine Shaw: I have read your information on 'Why are satellite dishes parabolic", and I know the reciever should be placed at the focus of the parabola. Could you test this with lights beams and a parabolic mirror, or would light beams behave differently. Thanks. Answered by Jack LeSage and Harley Weston.
From Megan Wennberg: Consider a ray of light that passes through a chord of a parabola (the chord is above the focus and parallel to the directrix), hits the parabola at a point (x,y) and is reflected through the focus. If d1 is the distance from the chord to the point of incidence (x,y) and d2 is the distance from (x,y) to the focus, can you prove that the sum of the distances d1+d2 is constant, independent of the particular point of incidence. Answered by Penny Nom.
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