Plane Mirrors?

Question

Can someone help me with the following questions on plane mirrors? Thanks.

1) Why is it impossible to form real images with a plane mirror?

2) To take a clear picture of an image in a plane mirror, should the camera be focuses on the image or on the surface of the mirror?

Thanks again!

Answer 1

1) Because the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection an object can never appear full size in a plane mirror unless it is in contact with the mirror, in which case the object obscures the reflection.. The apparent height or width of an object in a plane mirror will always be determined by the ratio of the distance from the observer to the mirror to the sum of the distance to the object from the mirror and the distance from the observer to the mirror. (by similar triangles).

2) The camera has no way of knowing it is looking at a mirror. Focusing on the image is the same as focusing on the mirror.