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Home Minds On Reflection and Mirrors Mission RM11 Real and Virtual images Help Help 4

Mission RM11 Real and Virtual images

The Question

Suppose that light rays originating from the object strike a mirror and diverge. When this occurs, one can be certain that ____.

Physics Rules

Virtual Images versus Real Images:
Images are seen in mirrors as the result of reflected light. The many light rays that originate at the object location reflect off the mirror and travel to each observer's eye. If the light rays diverge (spread apart) after reflection, then the image is referred to as a virtual image. If the light rays converge (come together) after reflection, then the image is referred to as a real image.

Think About It

Suppose you place a small light bulb in front of a plane mirror. Light rays extend from the bulb in all directions, many of which will approach the plane mirror. We refer to these rays as incident rays. Each incident ray reflects off the mirror according to the law of reflection. The reflected rays diverge after reflecting. When each of these diverging reflected rays is extended backwards, they intersect at a location behind the mirror. This is a virtual image location.

If the same thought experiment is performed with a light bulb placed a considerable distance from a concave mirror, the result would be different. Light rays which strike the concave mirror surface will reflect and then converge or come together. The location where the light rays come together or intersect is a real image location. It is a location on the object's side of the mirror (in front of the mirror).

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