Why doesn't your head appear at the bottom and your feet at the top?
2006-10-22 23:08:08 · 10 answers · asked by Mez 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Yep, your brain is playing tricks on you. A flat mirror breaks a symmetry, but it's not left right (as you already pointed out, it doesn't make sense)
The symmetry it breaks is front/back. So, when you look at yourself in a mirror, your nose is where the back of your head should be. Your brain interprets that as a left/right symmetry.
Think about it this way: Stand in front of a mirror (let's say the mirror is on an east/west plane perpendicular to the ground) and point up, your image points up, point East, your image points east, point west, you get the point... until you point North (ie, at the mirror) then your image points South... bingo.
-jose-
2006-10-23 01:05:43 · answer #1 · answered by ? 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Actually, if you look in a mirror, it doesn't reverse left and right. It reverses front and back. If you *stand* on the mirror, the image of your head will be pointing down.
2006-10-23 01:26:42 · answer #2 · answered by mathematician 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its a MIRROR image you can look at your friend and there left hand looks like its on the right side BUT they dont stand on thier head do they??
2006-10-22 23:17:17 · answer #3 · answered by Scythe 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ah but you see it DOESNT reverse anything - thats the trick.
Your left hand is still on YOUR left side, and the right hand is still on YOUR right side. And so the top is at your top and bottom at your bottom.
Of course, what this amounts to is things looking reversed because you end up facing the wrong way, but the important thing to remember is that everything is still on the same side, which is why is looks odd.
2006-10-23 01:53:17 · answer #4 · answered by Stuart T 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is a direct reflexion, a concave mirror can turn you upside down, 2 mirrors upright at right angles will show you the right way round - horizontally you would be upsidedown and in mirror image.
I guess this doesn't help much :-(
2006-10-22 23:28:55 · answer #5 · answered by Aspphire 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the element some replicate is that it would not invert left and perfect.. it inverts front and returned. It basically looks like it switches left and perfect given which you're finding at a picture which seems to be a individual finding at you, and you as a result characteristic their perfect hand to comparable on your left hand.
2016-10-16 07:13:59 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A mirror does not reflect left to right, it reflects back to front.
2006-10-23 00:56:44 · answer #7 · answered by JEREMY 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because there's a difference between left/right and up/down
2006-10-22 23:16:29 · answer #8 · answered by julie c 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try standing on your head...
2006-10-22 23:15:46 · answer #9 · answered by cgroenewald_2000 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what are you trippin on
2006-10-22 23:10:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋