Ladder

Caustic — the ladder

One essay so far against this idea. A ladder is the distinct arguments that stand against one idea, and this one has room to grow.
  1. 184 mm of causticvertex radius 1.60 m, aperture 1.24 m184 mm of envelope

    Where the focus went

    If the reflected rays do not meet at a point, they meet each other in pairs, and the curve they are all tangent to is what the mirror has instead of a focus. On a sphere of 1.6 m vertex radius it is 184.1 mm long and has a cusp; near the axis it sits at R/2, which is why a small enough spherical mirror passes for a good one. This is the bright shape in the bottom of a coffee cup, computed rather than admired.

    rung 5 · mirrors

All ladders