Spherical Mirror

Suppose you are sitting at the dining table and you don’t like the food,
you start playing with the spoon. You look yourself in the spoon and
you notice that you look pretty funny. The moment you get the spoon
closer you get a magnified image and when taken far, you see an
inverted image.

Do you know what’s really happening? To understand what is

happening lets us talk about the special class of mirrors known
as spherical mirrors. Let us first understand the terms of spherical
mirrors.

 The radius of Curvature (c): It is the distance between Pole and the
Center of curvature.
 Center of Curvature (r): The Center of Curvature of a spherical
mirror is the point in the center of the mirror which passes through
the curve of the mirror and has the same tangent and curvature at that
point.
 Aperture: It is a point from which the reflection of light actually
happens.
 Pole (p): Pole is the midpoint of a mirror. It’s twice the focus.
 Focus: It is any point, where light rays parallel to the principal axis,
will converge after reflecting from the mirror.
 Principal axis: An imaginary line passing through the optical center
and the center of curvature of the spherical mirror.
 Focal Length: It is on the axis of a mirror where rays of light are
parallel to the axis converge after reflection or refraction.
Spherical mirrors are of two types
 Convex Mirror
 Concave Mirror
Concave Mirror

A concave mirror is also known as the converging mirror as in these

type of mirrors light rays converge at a point after they strike and are
getting reflecting back from the reflecting surface of the mirror.

Convex mirror

The convex mirror has a reflective surface that curves outward. These
mirrors are “always” form virtual, erect and diminished regardless of
the distance between the object and mirror.
When parallel rays of light strike the mirror, they are reflected in a way
wherein they spread out or diverge. For this reason, a convex mirror is
also a diverging mirror too. If these reflected rays are extended behind
the mirror by dotted lines, they meet at a point.

This point is the focus of the convex mirror. The concave mirror is used
in the vehicle so that the driver is aware of the vehicle coming from
behind. They are also used in street light reflectors.
Convex mirrors are often used in convenience stores for security
purposes, or on the passenger side of automobiles to provide a wider
view. Concave mirrors are used in reflecting telescopes.

Uses of concave mirror

The concave mirror is a converging mirror , so that it is used for many

purposes , It is used as a torch to reflect the light , It is used in the
aircraft landing at the airports to guide the aeroplanes , It is used in
shaving to get an enlarged and erect image of the face .

The concave mirror is used in front lights of cars to reflect the light , It
is used in marine lighthouses that are found at the marine ports and at
the airports to guide the ships and it is used in the solar ovens .

the concave mirror is used in the solar ovens and the solar furnaces to
collect a large amount of solar energy in the focus of the mirror for
cooking food , heating water , recharging power backups or melting
metals respectively .

Concave mirrors are used in satellite dishes , They are used in

telescopes , Dentist and ENT doctors use them to obtain a larger image
than the original of the teeth , ear or skin etc .

Concave mirrors are used in the electron microscopes and magnifying

glasses , They are used in the visual bomb detectors and they are used in
the flash light mirror of camera .
Real image and Virtual image

Concave mirror and the convex mirror

Concave mirror and the convex mirror

The real image is formed as a result of the intersection of the reflected

light rays , It can be received on a screen and it is always inverted .

The virtual image is formed as a result of the intersection of the

reflected light rays extensions , It can not be received on a screen and it
is always erect ( upright ) .

the focus of concave mirror

The focus of the concave mirror is produced due to the collection of the
reflected rays emitted from a far object such as the sun , The rays after
being reflected collect in one lit point which is called the focus of the
mirror that can be received on the screen .

The distance between the focus of the mirror and the pole of the mirror
= ½ the radius of mirror curvature and it is called the focal length of the
mirror .

When the incident light ray parallel to the principal axis , It reflects
passing through the focus , When the incident light ray that passes
through the focus , It reflects parallel to the principal axis , When the
incident light ray that passes through the center of curvature , It reflects
back on itself .
Cases of formation of the images by the concave mirror

When the position of the object is very far , the position of the image is
at the focus , The image is real and very tiny ( dot ) .

The object is at a distance greater than the radius of curvature ( after the
center of curvature ) , The image is at a distance greater than the focal
length but less than the double of focal length ( between the focus and
the curvature ) , The image is real , inverted and diminished ( small ) .

When the object is at the center of curvature ( at a distance equals the

radius of curvature ) , The image will be at the curvature center , The
image will real , inverted and equal to the object .

When the object is between the center of curvature and the focus ( at a
distance more than the focal length but less than the radius of
curvature ) , The image is after the center of curvature ( at a distance
greater than the radius of curvature ) , The image is real , inverted and
enlarged ( magnified ) .
When the object is between the focus and the pole ( at a distance less
than the focal length , The image is behind the mirror , The image is
virtual , upright ( erect ) and magnified .

When the object is at the focus , No image is formed , The image is at

infinity where the rays penetrate as parallel .

Uses of convex mirror

The convex mirror is used as side-view mirror on the passenger’s side

of a car because it forms an erect and smaller image for the way behind
the car .

The convex mirror is suitable for convenient shop and big supermarket
and any other corner where need anti-thief , It is used in the turning off
the road and parking .

Convex mirrors are used inside the buildings , They are also used in
making lenses of sunglasses , They are used in magnifying glass , They
are used in securities and they are used in telescopes .

They can be used as street light reflectors because they can spread the
light over a bigger area , They are put on the corners of roads so that
you can see any cars coming to avoid the collisions and they are used as
ceiling dome mirrors .

Properties of the formed image by the convex mirror

Wherever the position of the object in front of the convex mirror , the
image is smaller than the object , It is upright ( erect ) , It is virtual ( not
received on a screen ) .
The Mirror Equation - Convex Mirrors

Reflection and Image Formation for Convex Mirrors

Ray Diagrams - Convex Mirrors

Image Characteristics for Convex Mirrors

The Mirror Equation - Convex Mirrors

Ray diagrams can be used to determine the image location, size, orientation and type of image formed
of objects when placed at a given location in front of a mirror. The use of these diagrams was
demonstrated earlier in Lesson 3 and in Lesson 4. Ray diagrams provide useful information about object-
image relationships, yet fail to provide the information in a quantitative form. While a ray diagram may
help one determine the approximate location and size of the image, it will not provide numerical
information about image distance and image size. To obtain this type of numerical information, it is
necessary to use the Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation. The mirror equation expresses
the quantitative relationship between the object distance (do), the image distance (di), and the focal
length (f). The equation is stated as follows:

The magnification equation relates the ratio of the image distance and object distance to the ratio of the
image height (hi) and object height (ho). The magnification equation is stated as follows:

These two equations can be combined to yield information about the image distance and image height if
the object distance, object height, and focal length are known. Their use was demonstrated in Lesson 3
for concave mirrors and will be demonstrated here for convex mirrors. As a demonstration of the
effectiveness of the Mirror equation and Magnification equation, consider the following example
problem and its solution.

Example Problem #1

A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 35.5 cm from a convex mirror having a focal length of -12.2
cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.

Like all problems in physics, begin by the identification of the known information.

ho = 4.0 cm

do = 35.5 cm

f = -12.2 cm

Next identify the unknown quantities that you wish to solve for.
di = ???

hi = ???

To determine the image distance (di), the mirror equation will have to be used. The following lines
represent the solution to the image distance; substitutions and algebraic steps are shown.

1/f = 1/do + 1/di

1/(-12.2 cm) = 1/(35.5 cm) + 1/di

-0.0820 cm-1 = 0.0282 cm-1 + 1/di

-0.110 cm-1 = 1/di

di = -9.08 cm

The numerical values in the solution above were rounded when written down, yet unrounded numbers
were used in all calculations. The final answer is rounded to the third significant digit.

To determine the image height (hi), the magnification equation is needed. Since three of the four
quantities in the equation (disregarding the M) are known, the fourth quantity can be calculated. The
solution is shown below.

hi/ho = - di/do

hi /(4.0 cm) = - (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)

hi = - (4.0 cm) • (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)

hi = 1.02 cm

The negative values for image distance indicate that the image is located behind the mirror. As is often
the case in physics, a negative or positive sign in front of the numerical value for a physical quantity
represents information about direction. In the case of the image distance, a negative value always
indicates the existence of a virtual image located behind the mirror. In the case of the image height, a
positive value indicates an upright image. Further information about the sign conventions for the
variables in the Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation can be found in Lesson 3.

From the calculations in this problem it can be concluded that if a 4.0-cm tall object is placed 35.5 cm
from a convex mirror having a focal length of -12.2 cm, then the image will be upright, 1.02-cm tall and
located 9.08 cm behind the mirror. The results of this calculation agree with the principles discussed
earlier in this lesson. Convex mirrors always produce images that are upright, virtual, reduced in size,
and located behind the mirror.
The Mirror Equation - Concave Mirrors

The Anatomy of a Curved Mirror

Reflection of Light and Image Formation

Two Rules of Reflection for Concave Mirrors

Ray Diagrams - Concave Mirrors

Image Characteristics for Concave Mirrors

The Mirror Equation

Spherical Aberration

Ray diagrams can be used to determine the image location, size, orientation and type of image formed
of objects when placed at a given location in front of a concave mirror. The use of these diagrams was
demonstrated earlier in Lesson 3. Ray diagrams provide useful information about object-image
relationships, yet fail to provide the information in a quantitative form. While a ray diagram may help
one determine the approximate location and size of the image, it will not provide numerical information
about image distance and object size. To obtain this type of numerical information, it is necessary to use
the Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation. The mirror equation expresses the quantitative
relationship between the object distance (do), the image distance (di), and the focal length (f). The
equation is stated as follows:

the magnification equation relates the ratio of the image distance and object distance to the ratio of the
image height (hi) and object height (ho). The magnification equation is stated as follows:

These two equations can be combined to yield information about the image distance and image height if
the object distance, object height, and focal length are known.

As a demonstration of the effectiveness of the mirror equation and magnification equation, consider the
following example problem and its solution.

Example Problem #1

A 4.00-cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7 cm from a concave mirror having a focal length of
15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the image size.

Like all problems in physics, begin by the identification of the known information.

ho = 4.0 cm

do = 45.7 cm

f = 15.2 cm
Next identify the unknown quantities that you wish to solve for.

di = ???

hi = ???

To determine the image distance, the mirror equation must be used. The following lines represent the
solution to the image distance; substitutions and algebraic steps are shown.

1/f = 1/do + 1/di

1/(15.2 cm) = 1/(45.7 cm) + 1/di

0.0658 cm-1 = 0.0219 cm-1 + 1/di

0.0439 cm-1 = 1/di

di = 22.8 cm

The numerical values in the solution above were rounded when written down, yet un-rounded numbers
were used in all calculations. The final answer is rounded to the third significant digit.

To determine the image height, the magnification equation is needed. Since three of the four quantities
in the equation (disregarding the M) are known, the fourth quantity can be calculated. The solution is
shown below.

hi/ho = - di/do

hi /(4.0 cm) = - (22.8 cm)/(45.7 cm)

hi = - (4.0 cm) • (22.8 cm)/(45.7 cm)

hi = -1.99 cm

The negative values for image height indicate that the image is an inverted image. As is often the case in
physics, a negative or positive sign in front of the numerical value for a physical quantity represents
information about direction. In the case of the image height, a negative value always indicates an
inverted image.

From the calculations in this problem it can be concluded that if a 4.00-cm tall object is placed 45.7 cm
from a concave mirror having a focal length of 15.2 cm, then the image will be inverted, 1.99-cm tall and
located 22.8 cm from the mirror. The results of this calculation agree with the principles discussed
earlier in this lesson. In this case, the object is located beyond the center of curvature (which would be
two focal lengths from the mirror), and the image is located between the center of curvature and the
focal point. This falls into the category of Case 1 : The object is located beyond C.