A2_4 An (almost) ring of light

Abstract

A potential method for causing light to travel a quasi-circular path by mimicking the shape of an N-sided polygon through a series of refraction events is discussed. Some simple geometric calculations are made in order to learn how this may be achieved and forms of intensity loss are considered. It is concluded that further analysis is required as there appears to be a trade-off between the beam losing too much energy and the refractive indices required being unphysical.