Unknown-Photographer
The Tripartite Triumphal Arch
A Mirror Image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substances such as a mirror or water. It is also a concept in geometry and can be used as a conceptualization process for 3-D structures. Two-dimensional mirror images can be seen in the reflections of mirrors or other reflecting surfaces, or on a printed surface seen inside-out. If we first look at an object that is effectively two-dimensional (such as the writing on a card) and then turn the card to face a mirror, the object turns through an angle of 180° and we see a left-right reversal in the mirror. In this example, it is the change in orientation rather than the mirror itself that causes the observed reversal. Another example is when we stand with our backs to the mirror and face an object that's in front of the mirror. Then we compare the object with its reflection by turning ourselves 180°, towards the mirror. Again we perceive a left-right reversal due to a change in our orientation. So, in these examples the mirror does not actually cause the observed reversals.
The Tripartite Triumphal Arch
A Mirror Image (in a plane mirror) is a reflected duplication of an object that appears almost identical, but is reversed in the direction perpendicular to the mirror surface. As an optical effect it results from reflection off from substances such as a mirror or water. It is also a concept in geometry and can be used as a conceptualization process for 3-D structures. Two-dimensional mirror images can be seen in the reflections of mirrors or other reflecting surfaces, or on a printed surface seen inside-out. If we first look at an object that is effectively two-dimensional (such as the writing on a card) and then turn the card to face a mirror, the object turns through an angle of 180° and we see a left-right reversal in the mirror. In this example, it is the change in orientation rather than the mirror itself that causes the observed reversal. Another example is when we stand with our backs to the mirror and face an object that's in front of the mirror. Then we compare the object with its reflection by turning ourselves 180°, towards the mirror. Again we perceive a left-right reversal due to a change in our orientation. So, in these examples the mirror does not actually cause the observed reversals.