CHAPTER 6

LIGHT:
MIRRORS
AND LENSES
6.3 MIRRORS
Most mirrors are made
from glass plates coated on
one side with a thin layer of
metal like aluminum.
Mirror is any object that has a
smooth , shiny surface where
almost all light striking the
surface is reflected.

The reflectedlight forms an

image , a copy of an object
formed by light.
 If mirrors preserve the images
that hit them, why do they turn
left into right and vice versa?
Why not up and down?
PLANE MIRROR
 It is a mirror with flat surface.

 Examples are mirrors used in

dressing rooms, bedrooms,
bathrooms, and rearview
mirrors in car.
 If you’ll stand in front of a plane
mirror, you’ll see an image of
yourself, it has the same size as your
actual size and seems to be of the
same distance behind the mirror as
you are in front. Actually, there is no
image behind the mirror, the image
formed is called a virtual image
that does not exist in the place where
it appears to be.
Virtual image

 The type of image

produced by a flat mirror.
SPHERICAL /
CURVED MIRROR

 A kind of mirror with a curved

reflecting surface.
 Both inner and outer surfaces can
reflect light.
Curved mirrors come in two basic flavors: convex
and concave.

 Concave mirror
Inner surface that reflects light, curve
inward like a spoon. This gives these
mirrors the ability to create an image
when their curvature bounces light to a
specific area in front of them. This area
is called the focal point.
 Convex mirror

Outer surface that reflects light. A

convex mirror, which bulges outward,
reflects at a wider angle near its edges
than at its center, creating a slightly
distorted image that's smaller than
actual size.
Concave mirror

Convex mirror
Parts of convex and concave mirror:

 Center of curvature, C - the center of

the sphere in which the mirror forms a
section.
 Vertex , V – the center of the mirror.
 Radius of curvature, R – the distance
between the vertex and the center of
curvature.
 Focal point (or focus), F – the point at
which reflected rays meet.

 Focal length, f – the distance from the

vertex to the focal point of a spherical
mirror; half the distance of the radius of
curvature of the mirror.
OTHER UNUSUAL TYPES OF MIRROR:

 Non-reversing mirrors: Patents for non-

reversing mirrors go back as far as 1887,
when John Derby created one by placing
two mirrors perpendicular to each other.

 This can be seen in places such as public

toilets when there are two mirrors
mounted on walls which meet at right
angles. Such an image is visible while
looking towards the corner where the two
mirrors meet.
 Acoustic mirrors:
Acoustic mirrors are huge
concrete dishes built to
reflect and distribute sound
instead of light.
 Two-way mirrors: These mirrors
are made by coating one side of a
sheet of glass with a very thin, very
lightly reflective material. When the
coated side faces a lighted room,
some of the light reflects and some
goes into a dark room behind the
mirror, making it possible to see into
the lighted room but not out.
NON-REVERSING MIRROR
ACOUSTIC MIRROR
TWO-WAY MIRROR
6.4 REFRACTION
 Refraction is the change in the
direction of a wave at a boundary
where it passes from one medium to
another.
 When a light ray strikes a surface,
like glass, it is partially reflected and
partially transmitted. The direction
in which the transmitted light is
propagated is different from the
direction of the incident light.
 Light is refracted when passing from
one medium into another because
the speed of light is different in two
media.