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You can't focus sunlight at the satellite distances. And this is a fundamental problem, the focal distance varies for each wavelength so your focus point will b
by cyberax 4mo ago
You can't focus sunlight at the satellite distances. And this is a fundamental problem, the focal distance varies for each wavelength so your focus point will be smeared. You need monochromatic light for that (a laser).
Edit: and also don't forget that the Sun is not a point source and has an appreciable angular size, further making it impossible to focus it with a reasonably-sized lens or mirror.
- echoangle 4mo agoI see your point for lenses but how would that happen with mirrors?
- cyberax 3mo agoYeah, you are correct. The mirrors are not affected by the wavelength, though they are affected by the non-zero angular size of the Sun. There are some non-linear effects that _are_ dependent on the wavelength, but not important to matter here.