WHY MIRRORS ARE SO REFLECTIVE
What makes looking glasses so good at reflecting light?
WORDS LAURA MEARS
M irrors can reproduce an image of whatever is in front of them. They use a combination of glass and metal to reflect any light that hits their surface. Light travels through space as waves. According to the law of reflection, when the waves hit a surface, they always bounce back in the opposite direction. If that surface is rough, each wave will hit at a slightly different angle and they will all scatter in a different way. But if the surface is smooth, the reflections will all bounce off in the same direction.
Mirrors are ultra-smooth. When light hits them from the front, it bounces straight back. If it comes in from the left, it exits to the right. The reflective properties of mirrors mean that almost all the light that hits them bounces back. To a casual observer, a mirror looks the same colour as the world around it. It can be anything from vermillion red to periwinkle blue. But mirrors do actually have a colour of their own.