Do you ever see a double in a mirror?
- A mirror, once known as a ‘looking glass’, is an invented object that reflects any light directed onto it, which results in the object reflecting an image.
- Both flat and curved mirrors are available, and the latter are able to manipulate light and images depending on the curve extremity.
- Mirrors are commonly used to look at one’s appearance; as an ornament or part of a building, often to make spaces look larger; and in some machines, including telescopes, to manipulate light.
- In ancient times, natural items were used to observe reflections in a similar way to mirrors, such as glossy stones and water.
- Handheld mirrors are believed to have been used around 6000 BC, and were commonly made of polished obsidian, and metals were used some time later.
- The modern mirror is believed to have been invented in the early to mid 1800s, by the German Justus von Liebig, a chemist, who developed a silvering process that eventually superseded the hazardous mercury backed items that had been used for centuries.
- Modern mirrors are usually made by coating the underside, of what most commonly is glass, with thin reflective layers, that often include layers of tin chloride, silver, copper, and a chemical activator, while paint is often used to seal and protect the back.
- Mirrors are used in vehicles to display a wider view of the surroundings, as well as to see behind, and different shapes are used for various vehicles, to maximise the visibility.
- Not many animals can recognise their own image in a mirror, and only great apes, elephants, bottlenose dolphins, orcas and Eurasian magpies are believed to have the ability.
- Mirrors are popularly used in art, as well as to entertain, and are used in kaleidoscopes, mazes and disco balls.