whady'all think o my idear

vs using coal powered generators to make up the extra wattage needed for incans? i think its a pretty fair trade off.

 

Solid mirrors would not be needed to transmit the light. A flexible tube with a reflective interior would just bounce the light around randomly until it reached the end. The light doesn't need to be going forward all the time, just enough that it eventualy gets to the end.

Solid mirrors might be needed for splitting or diming a channel.

The biggest problem is getting low cost, very high reflectivity materials.

 

indeed, the problem would be optimizing the light via reduction of the 'bounces' the light has to make in order to reach its destination. each bounce reduces the light as reflective surfaces arent fully reflective and convert small portions of the light energy into heat. mylar is pretty low cost, its no 'tin foil low cost' but is low cost enough and has high enough relflective properties to work in said tube.

 

What it the reflectivity of mylar? Actualy, is mylar only one thing? Or is it a the plastic on which different refective or coloured coatings are put?

 

mylar is 99% reflective, its what commercial indoor growers use line their walls for incresed reflectability. and its not a pure metal if thats what you mean, its a compound i think...

 

At 99% refectivity, 69 reflections mean 50% absorbsion. Lets use 6" diameter tubing. Light traveling at 45° to the tube will reflect 69 times in 68*sqrt(2)*6" of linear tubing. That is 585" or 49 feet before half the light is absorbed by the tube.

I know these are quick sloppy number, but they should be a useful for a first approximation.

Another issue is adaptability. As I understand your idea, you have a central light source and use this tubing to illuminate distant locations. You then have the options of either exposed "light ducts" or a messy remodel to move an illumination source (the terminus of a tube) across the room.