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Physics Lesson 12.8.3 - Image Formation in Plane Mirrors
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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Image Formation in Plane Mirrors, this is the third lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Mirrors. Equation of Curved Mirrors. Image Formation in Plane and Curved Mirrors, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
Image Formation in Plane Mirrors
As stated earlier, we need to consider only rays coming out from the object's extremities to build up an image in mirrors. Given this, we obtain the following figure for the image formation in plane mirrors.
Thus, light rays that start from the extremities of object are reflected from the mirror and enter to the eye pupil as shown in the figure. The extension of the reflected rays give the object's image. Since this image is obtained by the extensions of reflected rays and not by the reflected rays themselves, it is called "virtual image". Its dimensions are equal to those of the original object and the distance from the mirror is the same as the distance from object to mirror (do = di).
As a result, we can see the image obtained through reflection by plane mirrors even though the object is not in our direct sight.
It must be noted that the image produced by plane mirrors is laterally inverted. This means when we are in front of a plane mirror and raise the left hand, the image will raise the right hand.
You have reached the end of Physics lesson 12.8.3 Image Formation in Plane Mirrors. There are 8 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Mirrors. Equation of Curved Mirrors. Image Formation in Plane and Curved Mirrors, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
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- Continuing learning optics - read our next physics tutorial: Lenses. Equation of Lenses. Image Formation of Lenses
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