Flowers

Obviousity asked:


In France, they have a large array of reflective mirrors that focus the suns beams on a central point, generating heat and, thus, electricity.

That got me to wondering….

If I took a single light bulb and used magnifying glasses and mirrors and such, could I produce enough heat to, say, boil a small amount of water (producing steam)?

Or how about this: Could I take that single light bulb and, using mirrors and magnifcation, light and entire home? a stadium? a city?

That is, IF, IF, IF I could use fiber optics and so forth, just what could be done with a single light bulb?

Is any of this possible? Could a single light bulb perhaps generate enough electricity to light itself, or at least offset some of the power usage? Thoughts?
Thank you so much for EXCELLENT answers. I really appreciate it.

A further thought occurred upon reading these responses….

Surely a single light bulb in a room is greately enhanced by having a thousand mirrors–each reflecting the light bulb–in place.

That is, instead of having a wall that is one mirror, I might have a wall that is 10,000 mirrors, each adjusted to reflect the bulb. Are you saying that the room would not be brighter that way…than just with the single bulb? Thanks again–I am learing so much!

William