Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Plane Mirror
- Properties of Plane Mirror Image
- Summary
- Did You Know?
- What’s Next?
In the previous segment, we learned about the reflection of light from the surface of a mirror. In this segment, we will learn about the plane mirror and it’s image properties.
Plane Mirror
A plane mirror is a simple mirror with a flat reflective surface. In other words, it is a flat mirror without any curves.
Properties of Image formed by a Plane Mirror
The different properties of the image formed by a plane mirror are :
- The image formed is a Virtual image: the image formed on the mirror appears behind the mirror. This image cannot be projected on a screen and such an image is called a virtual image.
- The image formed is always Erect: this means that the position or the location of the corresponding points on the object and the image exactly match each other.
- The image formed is always of the Same Size as the object: the dimensions of the image formed are exactly the same as the dimensions of the object.
Let us understand the above properties with the help of an example. Consider a candle placed in front of a plane mirror. Its image is formed in the mirror.
We can clearly see that the image of the candle appears to be formed behind the mirror. Now, if we place a screen behind it, the image of the candle will not be projected on it. Thus, it’s called a virtual image.
