Can someone explain to me using information about mirrors and reflections why mirrors display words backwards.
2006-11-20 15:15:09 · 3 answers · asked by cult_king_666 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
reflection simply means rotation by an angle of 180 deg. about a axis perpendicular to the plane of mirror.So, when you perform this rotation on the words you can easily see that they must be displayed in the mirror backwards.
2006-11-20 15:21:48 · answer #1 · answered by d_astro 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people would say it's because the mirror reverses it. This is a common misconception that gets repeated over and over. It even appears in text books but it isn't true. Mirrors don't reverse anything. Lets see if I can explain it to you. Lets say that you are standing directly in front of a big mirror. Take out a piece of paper and write your name on it. Hold it in front of you so you can read what you've written. OK. From now on pay careful attention to what you do. Slowly TURN THE PAPER AROUND so it faces the mirror. I'll grant you that the writing now looks backwards. But did the mirror reverse it? No, you did. See the words in caps. If you want further proof, have someone shine a light on the paper from the mirror side so you can see the words through the paper. They are reversed and would be even if there were no mirror there. Don't you love busting age old myths?
2006-11-21 01:26:27 · answer #2 · answered by JimWV 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is because light rays travel in a straight line (unless refracted)! Trace a straight line to the mirror from your left arm to the reflection. Your left arm is on the right in the reflection! It is reversed because the light traveled in a straight line.
2006-11-20 23:32:13 · answer #3 · answered by David A 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋