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Some people still don’t know how a mirror works

Earlier this year, while scientists were trying to unravel some of the world’s great mysteries, such as the missing matter in the universe and the nature of dark matter, some users of the TikTok platform were struggling with how mirrors work.

By posting various videos on this social network, people tried to figure out how the mirror can “see” objects placed on its surface, even though it is hidden behind a piece of paper. It seems that despite all the efforts, this issue still bothers some people it confuses.

The operation of the mirror is actually very simple; Even if it doesn’t seem like it. When light hits an object (such as Mario in the image above), the wavelengths of light are absorbed and the remaining light is reflected back according to the color of the object. For example, Mario’s hat absorbs light wavelengths from the purple/blue end of the color spectrum and reflects red back to our eyes.

If a piece of white paper is held up to a mirror (like in the video above), all the colors of the color spectrum will be reflected, making the mirror the color we see as white. A perfect mirror (since it reflects all the colors of the spectrum) is also technically white; However, in reality, mirrors reflect green light more than other colors. This makes the color of the mirror slightly greenish.

The reason why when we look at a mirror, we see the reflection of objects inside it, and when we look at a white object, we do not see a reflection, is because the mirror has a smooth surface.

When light hits a white object, Diffuse reflection it happens; That is, the light is scattered in different directions due to the uneven surface and hidden defects in the texture of the object. But a mirror is a flat object and reflects light at the same angle as it entered, without any diffuse reflection and scattering (or at least with a very high reduction of scattering). If you are in a room where there is a mirror, a non-opaque object and a light source, you will see the object reflected in reverse in your eyes.

As a result, when we place the object behind a piece of paper, the ambient light scatters in different directions from the object. The amount of light reflected from the object, at a certain angle called “Angle of radiationis known, reaches the surface of the mirror just beyond the edge of the paper.

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