Mirrors are very present in our lives. We have them at home, in the car , at work, but they are not all the same and they do not have the same shape. Let’s see below, the different types of mirrors, shapes and what are their uses.
Types of mirrors, shapes and what are their uses
Mainly, there are two main types of mirrors. One is the flat mirror and the other is the curved mirror . So now we are going to explain what the differences are between the two and how inside the curved mirror, we find two others: the convex and the concave.
Flat mirror
The plane mirror or plane / vegetable sinusoidal mirror is a smooth surface, the specular reflection will occur when the light passes, which means that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection of the normal line .
When the eyes receive this light from the mirror, it appears that the object is behind the mirror . This type of image is not actually real and is called a virtual image. It is virtual because the light waves do not actually pass through that point, and we can only see it but not touch it. The distance between the mirror and the object is called the object distance and the distance between the virtual image and the mirror is the image distance. In the plane mirror, the distance of the object is equal to the distance of the image, and that is why in geometry we have the term mirror symmetry.
This is a type of mirror that we can find for example in the changing rooms of clothing stores, in hairdressers or also, the tall and flat mirrors that many people place in their bedroom to see how their clothes fit (or for dressing rooms ). It can also be found on car rear view mirrors.
Curved mirror
For the curved mirror, there are two types: concave mirror and convex mirror. A curved mirror that has its center closer to the incoming light than its edges is called a convex mirror , while one that has its center farther away from the incoming light than its edges is called a concave mirror .
We generally assume that the light waves reaching the lens are coming from an infinitely distant object, so the light waves will be parallel to the main axis. We can distinguish these two types of curved mirrors in this way: the concave mirror can converge the light, while the convex mirror diverge the light .
What other characteristics do they have? The focal point of the concave and convex mirrors is (1/2) * R away from the mirror. For a concave mirror, a real image is formed at the focal point outside the mirror, while for a convex mirror, a virtual image is formed at the focal point behind the mirror. The concave mirror is often seen in the solar water boiler because the light converges / focuses, so the energy at one point is high enough to boil the water.
On the other hand, the concave mirror has a reflective area with an inward curvature thanks to which it manages to enlarge the images it reflects, hence this type of se is also found in magnifying mirrors (such as those used in makeup). and in telescopes.
As for convex mirrors, we often see them in car parks because they diverge light and help to obtain a wider view than flat mirrors.
