#Angle of reflection off a mirror how to#
#Angle of reflection off a mirror code#

When you're finished with your mirror messages, use mirrors to explore the world around you in ways you don't normally see it.

#Angle of reflection off a mirror code#

Once they understand the trick, ask them to compose a message in mirror code for you to decode. Can they read it? Probably not! Give them a clue that they may need a mirror to decode your message. When you're finished, give your “coded' message to your friends. Take another piece of paper and copy your message the way it appears in the mirror.

When you look at the reflection of your message in the mirror, it should look kind of funny. Write it out in large letters on a piece of paper. Think of a short message you want to deliver to some friends.

#Angle of reflection off a mirror how to#

It's true! To start, you're going to learn how to use a mirror to compose a secret message in mirror code. You may not realize it, but mirrors can be super-secret spy tools for secret agents.

Can you find more than 10 mirrors around your home? More than 25? Can anyone find 100? What about blank television screens? Microwave or over doors? Pots and pans? And, yes, you can count the mirrors on vehicles that sit in your garage or driveway. Count anything that can show your reflection. Don't limit your count to regular mirrors. But if you put your brain to work, you can probably find many more. Of course, the mirrors in your bathroom are the obvious place to start. Scour your house and garage for all the mirrors you can find. Get your counting fingers and toes ready. How many mirrors do you have in your home? The answer might surprise you.Ask a couple friends or family members to join you as you reflect on today's activities: Make sure you get permission to use a mirror if it belongs to someone else. Ready to have some fun with mirrors? For today's activities, you'll need to find a couple mirrors to use. Today's high-definition televisions often rely upon millions of microscopic mirrors to display those beautiful, crisp images you enjoy watching so much! Mirrors can even help you watch television. Mirrors are also important parts of telescopes and microscopes. For example, rear-view mirrors on a car allow you to see what's behind you before you back up. In addition to helping you make sure your hair looks nice before you head out to school or off to work, mirrors serve many important functions. They are flat and reflect the objects in front of them accurately, maintaining the same relative size and position of the objects reflected. The mirrors in most bathrooms are these types of mirrors, known as plane mirrors. Today, mirrors are usually made of clear glass that has been coated on one side with a thin film of metal, such as silver or aluminum. European glass makers began developing a process of coating clear glass with a thin layer of reflective metal in the 15 th and 16 th centuries. The modern mirrors you're familiar with are much more recent. Large pieces of polished metal, such as brass, were also used as mirrors, although these were very expensive. The first mirrors were likely polished stones, such as obsidian (a type of volcanic glass).

If a smooth surface absorbs the photons, they can't bounce back and there will be no reflection.Īlthough calm, dark water has been used as a mirror since the beginning of time, people started making mirrors thousands of years ago. Of course, not all smooth surfaces act as mirrors. The words on the shirt appear backwards in the mirror. The mirror image is reversed, which you can easily see if you stand in front of a mirror with a shirt with words on it. Your eyes see these reflected photons as a mirror image. When photons - rays of light - coming from an object (your smiling face, for example) strike the smooth surface of a mirror, they bounce back at the same angle. The key factor is a smooth surface, because rough surfaces scatter light instead of reflecting it. Would you believe that mirrors have been around since the beginning of time? It's true! The first human beings ever to look into a calm, dark pool of water saw their reflections.ĭon't you wonder what their reactions were? Who are those people? And what are they doing in the water?!īasically, anything with a smooth surface that reflects almost all of the light that hits it - with only very little light absorbed or scattered - can be a mirror.