In: Physics
Describe how a plane mirror works. Is the image you see real or virtual and why. Does the mirror image appear closer or farther than the actual object. How can you prove that?
A plane mirror makes the image of the object placed in front of the mirror, which appear to be behind the plane in which the mirror lies. The image formed lies at same distance behind the plane of the mirror, as the distance of the object in front of the mirror. The image formed by the plane mirror is always virtual, upright, and of the same shape and size as the object it is reflecting. However, the image is a laterally inverted. It means the left side of the object appears to be right side in the image and vice-versa.
The image we see is virtual image because the light rays actually do not come from the image.
The mirror image appears at the same distance as the actual object. This can be proved by placing our hand on the mirror. The image of our hand is formed just behind the surface of the mirror. As we move our hand father from the mirror, the image also start moving away from the mirror.