Book 1, Question 121
Why Do Mirrors Flip Left and Right? Or Do They?
Mirrors seem to swap left and right, but the page says that is not quite what happens. A mirror bounces light straight back, so it flips front to back and not really left to right. Your right hand still looks like a right hand facing you. Writing looks backward in a mirror because front and back are swapped. Write a word on paper, hold it to a mirror and see what you notice!
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- Light bounces off a mirror at the same angle it hits, like a pool ball bouncing off the cushion. This is called the law of reflection.
- Stepping back from a small wall mirror won't let you see more of yourself. You see the same amount no matter how far back you go.
- How much of yourself you see depends on how tall the mirror is and where it hangs, not on how far away you stand.
- Glass is made by melting a raw material like sand and then cooling it.
- Long ago, people in Mexico polished obsidian, a shiny black volcanic glass, to make mirrors.
- One of these Aztec obsidian mirrors ended up in England in the 1500s and is now in the British Museum.
Sources: BBC, Science News Explores, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Will I see more of myself if I step back from a mirror?
No. You see the same amount of yourself no matter how far back you stand.
What were the first mirrors made of?
Some early mirrors were polished stone, like the black volcanic glass called obsidian.