Some situations that can be explained with simple information can sometimes lead to discussions with viral shares on social media. Finally, one of these discussions was how an object behind another object is reflected by the mirror.
We explained this question, which became viral in a short time on social media, in an understandable way. The answer lies in the simple laws of physics.
Mirror question that went viral on TikTok:
Key factor to help explain the issue: diffuse reflection
- * Diffuse reflection from a flat surface. There may be no direct reflection on an irregular surface.
Our vision is made possible by a basic condition called ‘diffuse reflection’. Rays from a light source hit any object and are re-reflected in all directions. These reflected rays also constantly collide with other places and illuminate other objects.
Our eyes actually collect every single ray that reflects towards its position. This is how we see it.
The ‘magic’ in the video above is also made possible by diffuse reflection:
It is possible for us to see ourselves in a mirror with the same logic. But every light that comes to the surface of the mirror is reflected linearly, not diffusely. In this way, the mirror reflects every ray that comes to it in the opposite direction at an angle equal to the angle of incidence.
In this way, when you hold a laser to the mirror, you can see that the laser is reflected in the other direction at the same angle as your grip angle.
The situation we see in TikTok is also the order of diffuse reflection>mirror>linear reflection>eye. The light reflected by an object from every angle is reflected on the mirror, and the mirror reflects these lights back at the angle of incidence. By changing the position of our head, we can see the light reflected from the mirror towards any position.
If we explain the discussion on TikTok with this information:
The image above clearly shows how we can see the object behind the obstacle when we look far enough. If we get closer to the object, we will begin to be unable to see the reflection after a while, as the reflection angle of the light in the mirror will narrow.
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