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| 3-Mirror System |
| The 3-mirror system reacts similarly to the 2-mirror with one major exception. A third mirror replaces the blackened side of the triangle in the 2-mirror and produces a continuation of reflections throughout the entire field of view. Symmetrical images are much harder to achieve in 3-mirror systems because now there are 3 angles which must be accurate instead of only the one angle in the 2-mirror design. |
| Again it is important that the mirrors be set at an angle which can be evenly divided into the 360° of the circle; such as 90°, which divides into 360° 4 times, or: |
| The other important rule which governs symmetry throughout is that the sum of the 3 angles must total 180° (the total number of degrees in a triangle). Using both these rules, only 3 combinations produce the desired effect. The most common and simplest arrangement is the 60° - 60° - 60° equilateral triangle. Here each angle produces 6 fold patterns which results in a design (FIG3) of continuous triangles. |
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| The second combination is the 45° - 45° - 90° isosceles right triangle. This relationship produces 8 fold patterns at the 45o angles and a 4 fold pattern at the 90° angle, effectively producing continuous square patterns. The sequence of reflections is as above. |
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