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I am looking to use a half silvered one-way mirror to allow as much light and solar energy as possible into a room where there are highly reflective surfaces within the room - and I want to keep the energy from reflecting back outside - trap as much light/energy as I can in the room. That's why I am wondering what percentage of sun-light would be transmitted through a "reversed" one-way mirror with the clear glass side of the mirror to the outside and the half-silvered side on the surface inside the room? And to what extent might this arrangement reflect solar light/energy back into the room?

Emilio Pisanty
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rudy
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  • Related post by OP: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/509129/2451 – Qmechanic Oct 20 '19 at 16:39
  • You can't really trap light, it is better to absorb it. 50% of whatever hits either side will transmit. Better to have no window and black surfaces in the room. – PhysicsDave Oct 20 '19 at 18:20

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There is no such thing as a one-way mirror.

If you want a mirror to reflect 99% of the light that tries to get out of the cavity, then that mirror will also need to reject 99% of the light that tries to get in.

Emilio Pisanty
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