y is that wen we look in to mirror image is shifted to right to left? y cant it doest occur in top to bottom ?

Question

Physics question,
laws of reflection,
rotatation of image in left to right direction..
y is not in top to bottom?

Answer 1

I think I read somewhere that Feynman's take on this was that what you are really seeing is that your front and back are really what have traded places, not left and right, etc.

Answer 2

In a normal reflective surface (mirror, glass, still water, etc.) there is no rotation or distortion of the image. You are only perceiving yourself as you are seen by others as opposed to what you imagine you look like based on non-visual information from your sense of touch (what your facial muscles and such feel like internally when you move them, what you feel when you touch your face with your hands, etc.). So, actually, it's in your mind, not in the optics. You will obtain a top-bottom optical distortion only if you use a curved reflective surface.

Actually, though, we do see bottoms-up. All light that bounces off of the objects in our environment and which enters into our field of vision is turned upside down as it moves through the lenses of the eyes, and that is how it hits the retina at the back of the eye--upside down. In order to return the light information to a normal orientation, we would need a second lens to reverse the upside-down image that results from the first lens. Since that would necessitate a less elegant and economic eye structure, we have only the one lens and after the light hits the retina, the resulting messages from the retina are reversed when they enter the visual area of the brain.

Answer 3

Cause it just reflects what it sees.so if your hand is on the left it will reflect it on the left cause thats where it is.its a bit like a stamp.when you press a stamp onto a piece of paper it does it backwards but not upside down.i know what i am trying to say but its hard to explain.ha.oh well.i hope you understand that take on it

Answer 4

It doesn't happen left-to-right, either. Your left hand shows on the left side of the mirror, and your right hand shows up on the right side of the mirror. The confusion comes from seeing other peooples' left hands on our right side when they are facing us.