COLLEGE PHYSICS, Part II

Chapter 25: THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT:

MIRRORS
1. The Reflection of Light
2. The Formation of Images by a Plane Mirror
3. Reflection by Spherical Mirrors

4. The Formation of Images by Spherical Mirrors

5. The Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation

Reflection and Refraction

When an incident light beam hits a surface that separates two transparent materials, such as
air and glass, the light is being partially reflected and partially transmitted (refracted). (There
are other effects, such as absorption, scattering, diffraction, but for now we consider only
reflection and transmission.) Usually consideration of just one ray is enough. The directions of
the incident, reflected, and refracted rays are usually presented by the angles they make with
the normal to the surface, as shown in the lower right part of the Figure.

LAW OF REFLECTION
The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal
to the surface all lie in the same plane, and the angle
of incidence equals the angle of reflection.

r i
This means the incident and
reflected rays are reversible.

Wavefront is a surface that is perpendicular to the direction of propagation

of the wave, and all rays have the same phase at the wavefront.

At large distances from the source, the wavefronts become less and
less curved. Waves whose wavefronts are flat surfaces are called plane
waves. Naturally, the rays of a plane wave are parallel to each other.

Reflection at a defined angle from a smooth planar surface is called specular

reflection. Random reflection from a rough surface is called diffuse reflection.

In specular reflection, the reflected rays are parallel to each other.

The image obtained by reflection is not

identical to the object:
In the mirror, the sense of right and left is
reversed.
The persons right hand becomes the images
left hand.
A right handed helix becomes a left handed
helix, etc.

Right-handed
helix

Left-handed
helix

Formation of Images by a Plane Mirror

The reflection in a plane (flat) mirror:
1. is upright.
2. is the same size as the object.
3. the image is as far behind the mirror as the object in front of it.
A ray of light from the top of the chess piece reflects from the mirror.
To the eye, the ray seems to come from behind the mirror.
Because none of the rays directly comes from the image, it is called a virtual image.

The image distance is equal to the object distance.

1 90 o
but
hence

and

2 90 o

1 2

The triangles ABC and CBD are

identical (congruent) .

do htan 1 htan 2 di
So, the object and the image are at equal distances from the surface of the mirror.
Using similar simple geometric arguments, we can show that the object and the image
have the same height and that the image has the same orientation (is upright).

Conceptual Example 1 Full-Length Versus Half-Length Mirrors

What is the minimum mirror height necessary for her to see her full image?

= = tan
The mirror should be
at least half the
persons height

Conceptual Example 2 Multiple Reflections

A person is sitting in front of two mirrors that intersect at a right angle.
The person sees three images of herself. Why are there three, rather than two,
images?

Images in mirrors 1 and 2 are created because of simple reflections from the
corresponding mirror. Image 3 is created because of two reflections, as shown in
part (b), from mirror 1 and then from mirror 2 (right hand side of image 3), and from
mirror 2 and then from mirror 1 (left hand side of image 3),

Spherical Mirrors

A spherical mirror is a piece of spherical surface that can reflect light.

If the inside surface of the spherical surface is polished and works as a
mirror, it is a concave mirror. If the outside surface is polished, is it a
convex mirror.

C is the center of curvature, and R is the radius.

The law of reflection applies, just as it does for a plane mirror.
The principal axis (aka optic axis) of the mirror is a straight line drawn
through the center and the midpoint of the mirror, perpendicular to the
surface.

A point on the tree lies on the principal axis of the concave mirror.

Rays from that point that are near the principal axis cross the axis
at the image point.
After passing the image point, light rays continue traveling and for the
viewer they really come from the image. Therefore the image is a real
image.

When the object is far away from the mirror, the incident rays are (nearly)
parallel to the principal axis. The rays near and parallel to the principal
axis are reflected from the concave mirror and converge at the focal
point F. Thus, objects far from the concave mirror create images at the
focal point. The distance from F to the middle of the mirror is called the
focal length f.

The point B at the center of the mirror is called the vertex.

Consider rays coming from a far
away object. Suppose the rays are
parallel to and near the principal
axis. According to the reflection law,
the angle of incidence, , equals the
angle of reflection. The angle ACB is
also because the line AC is the
transversal of two parallel lines. So,
the triangle ACF is an isosceles
triangle:

For small , FB = AFcos AF

CF AF

For incident rays close to the principal axis, the angle is small and

CF FB

AF FB

The focal point of a concave mirror is halfway between the center of

curvature of the mirror C and the mirror:

f 12 R

Rays that lie close to the principal axis are called paraxial rays.
Rays that are far from the principal axis do not converge to a single point.
The fact that a spherical mirror does not bring all parallel rays to a single
point is known as spherical aberration.

Concave parabolic (not

spherical) mirrors are able to
focus all parallel rays at the focal
point irrespective to their
proximity to the principal axis.
With the aid of such parabolic
mirrors the energy of sunlight can
be accumulated and used for
heating, creating high
temperature steam that is used
to run the turbines of electric
generators.

Parabolic mirrors are also used to create

parallel beam of light, e.g. in car headlights.

Convex Mirrors
When paraxial light rays that are parallel to the principal axis strike a convex
mirror, they diverge from the mirror and appear to come from a point F behind the
mirror, which is the focal point of the mirror. The distance from F to the vertex is
the focal length f.

For convex mirrors, the focal length is again one-half of the radius of
curvature, and a negative sight is assigned to it.

f 12 R

The Formation of Images by Spherical Mirrors

Concave Mirrors
The image can be constructed using the ray
tracing technique. Consider three special rays:

This ray is initially parallel to the principal axis

and passes through the focal point.

This ray initially passes through the focal point,

then emerges parallel to the principal axis.

This ray travels along a line that passes through

the center.

Image Formation and the Principle of Reversibility

The image can be constructed using two of the three special types of rays, as
shown in the diagrams below.
(a) Object between F and
the center of curvature C:
image is larger than
object and inverted.

(b) Object beyond the

center of curvature:
image is smaller than
object and inverted.
In both cases the image is
real.
If the direction of light is reversed, the light retracts its original path.

When an object is located between the focal point and a concave mirror,
an enlarged, upright, and virtual image is produced.

Convex Mirrors
Ray 1 is initially parallel to the principal axis and
appears to originate from the focal point.

Ray 2 heads towards the focal point, emerging parallel to the principal axis.
Ray 3 travels toward the center of curvature and reflects back on itself.

The image is virtual, diminished in size, and upright. Convex mirrors

always create virtual images. They provide a wider field of view than plane
or concave mirrors.

The Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation

The mirror equation and the magnification equation provide relationships between:

f focallength

d o object distance

d i image distance

m = magnification
Concave Mirrors
The two colored triangles are similar because
they have same angles. Therefore:

ho
do

hi di
For paraxial rays, these two colored triangles
are also similar. Therefore:

ho
do f

hi
f

ho
do

hi di

and

ho
do f

hi
f

yield:

do do

1
di
f

do do
do do

f
di
di d o
Dividing both sides by do we get the mirror equation:
The magnification, m, of a mirror is the ratio
of the image height to the object height:

hi
m
ho

h
d
Using o o , we get the magnification equation:
hi di
Upright image: m 0
di and do have opposite
signs, i.e. image is at the
opposite side of mirror
(virtual image).

Inverted image: m 0
di and do have same
signs, i.e. image is at the
same side of mirror (real
image).

1 1 1

do di
f

hi
di
m

ho
do

Example: A 2.0 cm high object is placed at do = 7.1 cm from a concave mirror with
a radius of curvature of 10.2 cm. Find (a) the location of the image, di, and (b) its
size, hi.
Given: ho, do,
Find: di, hi

The focal distance is

1
R 5.1cm
2

The object is located between the focal point F and the center of curvature C. The image is
real and inverted.

(a) Use the mirror equation to find di :

di > 0 means the image is real.

1 1 1 do f

di
f do
fdo

(b) Use the magnification equation to find hi :

hi < 0 means the image is inverted.

hi
d
i
ho
do

di

fdo
18.1cm
do f

di ho
hi
5.1cm
do

Example: A 1.2 cm high object is placed at do = 6.0 cm from a concave mirror with
a 10.0 cm focal length. Find (a) the location of the image, di, and (b) its height, hi.
Given: ho, do,
Find: di, hi

1 1 1

do di
f

The object is located between the focal point F and the mirror. The image is virtual and
upright.
(a) Use the mirror equation to find di :

di

fdo
15.0cm
do f

di < 0 means the image is virtual (behind the mirror).

(b) Use the magnification equation to find hi :

di ho
hi
3.0cm
do

hi > 0 means the image is upright.

Convex Mirrors
The mirror and magnification equations are equally applicable to convex mirrors.
However, in this case the focal distance should be taken with a negative sign.

f 21 R
Example: A convex mirror is used to reflect light from an object placed at do = 66
cm in front of the mirror. The radius of the mirror is R = 92 cm. Find (a) the location
of the image and (b) the magnification.
Given: do, R
Find: di, m
a)

f 21 R 46cm

1 1 1
1
1

0.037 cm1
di
f d0 46 cm 66 cm

d i 27 cm

Negative di means the image is virtual (behind the mirror).

b)

di
27 cm
m

0.41
do
66 cm

Positive m means an upright image.

Example: A convex mirror reflects light from a toy at do = 30.0 cm from it. The
toy's height is 6.0 cm, and the height of the toy's image is 1.2 cm. What is the
focal length of the mirror?
Given: do, ho, hi
Find: f

From (2) we get:

We use the mirror eqn.:

1 1 1

do di
f

(1)

and the magnification eqn.:

hi
di
m

ho
do

(2)

1.2cm 30.0cm
hi d o

di

6.0cm
ho
6.0cm

(virtual image)

Equation (2) indicates the image is upright.

Now we can find f using eqn. (1):

1
1
1

0.133cm1
f 30.0cm 6.0cm

f 7.5cm

Summary of Sign Conventions for Spherical Mirrors

f is for a concavemirror.
f is for a convex mirror.
d o is if the object is in front of the mirror.
d o is if the object is behind the mirror.

di is if the image is in front of the mirror (real image).

di is if the image is behind the mirror (virtual image).

m is + for an upright image.

m is - for an inverted image.