Kochu Studio Optical studies All light experiments

EX04 / Reflection

Second Sun

A shaped mirror borrows the bright disc and dark sweep of Iana Kochu’s Red Meridian. A single beam brings them back as light.

The reflected image

Mirror surface
Simulated incident and reflected rays 01 / LAMP 03 / RECEIVER 02 / MIRROR
One reflection34° incidence
Amber display of the optimized mirror’s simulated receiver, with a bright disc and dark arc
Simulated receiver · amber palette
Target correlation
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Arc / surround light
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Mean crop irradiance
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Source and studies

Shape gives
light a path.

Parallel rays meet a two-unit mirror at 34°. Changing the mirror’s relief gathers more rays into the disc and sends them away from the dark stroke. A diffuse receiver records where the rays land.

EPFL · Computational Caustics ↗ Method and files ↗

Red Meridian by Iana Kochu, with a golden disc and a dark sweeping arc
01 Red Meridian
Traced brightness target with a bright irregular disc and dark tapered arc
02 Brightness target
Optimized mirror heightmap, where lighter values indicate higher points
03 Mirror relief