John Carmichael suggested floating the mirror in mercury to level it, and
then Dave Bell pointed out that the clean surface of the mercury could be
the mirror.

Since mercury is a bit of a problem to work with, could a dish of water
serve instead? In John's case, he just needs the mirror to be able to float
on the liquid. I just tested a CD and it floated on water. The plastic is
more dense than water but if the CD is dropped gently into place, it floats
due to surface effects. A small piece could be cut from a spare CD to make a
mirror of the required size, or the hole at the centre of  the annular
reflection of an intact CD could act as the spot. A CD is not as reflective
as a mirror of course, but I think it would be good enough. I can't test
this - it's cloudy here today. The dish would need to be only slightly wider
than the mirror to prevent it floating off centre. Also, the dish might need
to be full to the brim so that the sunray does not need to travel through
its the walls. Alternatively, could the reflection from water itself be
enough, like Dave's way with mercury?

A vessel such as a wineglass on the window sill would look quite welcoming
from outside. Of course, the choice of liquid would be important, and
contrary to the sundialling norm, Moonshine might work better than a Tequila
Sunrise.

Steve




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