In physics a mirror can represent much more challenging puzzles than finding out who the reflected face is. Perhaps that is why studying or just possessing knowledge in this area is so interesting and disruptive.

What are plane mirrors?

Plane mirrors can be defined as structures whose surface is plane and polished, and shapes can be reflected. In the case of plane structures, as the name says, they have plane features on their surface.

But beyond that characteristic, questioning “what are plane mirrors” opens up a range of possibilities and experiments. One is to understand that this mirror model proposes a symmetry between the actual object and the reflected object.

This is simple to explain, since the construction of the image in the plane mirrors appears on opposite sides. That said, it is possible to define as one real and another a reflex. Thus, to establish the point of symmetry, it is enough to draw a line from the real object to its reflection.

Main Features:

* Any image that appears reflected in a plane mirror has the same size as the actual object;

* Each and every object reflected corresponds to an image;

* One reflected object does not overlap another;

* When an object is reflected, image reversal happens. In this way, it reverses the position from left to right (vice versa), but never from top to bottom;

* There is symmetry between the distance from the object to the mirror, as well as between the image and the mirror;

Association of plane mirrors

Plane mirrors have several interesting features that make possible various home-run experiments. One is related to the association of plane mirrors.

This is a term used in physics to define the multiplication of images taken through mirrors. This multiplication happens when we put one or more mirrors side by side. In this way, the images begin to multiply by forming an angle (α), as the angle (α) decreases, the quantity of images increases.

As we know physics is always along with math. In this sense, it is possible through a calculation, to discover the amount of images provided by the mirrors that forms the angle. Check out the formula:

Plane mirrors x spherical mirrors

When talking about what are plane mirrors it is impossible not to mention their differences from the spherical mirrors. As the name suggests, the spherical mirrors have a more rounded surface with a high power of reflection. They are presented as smooth and polished beads or hemispheres where the angles provide equivalent incidence and reflection. Spherical mirrors can be classified into two:

* Concave Mirrors: This mirror model is characterized as part of any internal spherical vertex whose surface has the ability to reflect.

* Convex mirrors: Convex mirrors can be defined as just the opposite. In this way, it represents the external surface of any vertex with reflection ability.