Mirror, mirror
Who is that person in the mirror? It seems to be another you, doing
exactly what you are doing. How can a mirror \”copy” you?
A mirror is very smooth. The front of a mirror is Hat, polished glass.
Behind the glass is a thin layer of silver or some other kind of shiny
material.
As you stand in front of a mirror, light bounces off you and passes
through the glass.
When the light hits the shiny layer behind the glass, it bounces
straight back. This is why you can see yourself.
Your reflection is a good copy of you. But have you ever tried to shake
hands with it? You can’t. When you hold out your right hand, your
reflection holds out its left hand. You can’t march in step with it,
either. When you step with your left foot, your reflection steps with
its right foot.
Why does your reflection do just the opposite of what you do? Pretend
for a moment that the mirror is something you could fall into—like a
soft blanket of fresh snow. If you fall into the snowbank face down, you
leave a perfect \”print” of yourself. Your \”snow print” is like your
reflection in the mirror. Your right hand makes the left hand of your
\”snow print,” and your left hand makes the print’s right hand. Your
right foot makes the print’s left foot, and your left foot makes the
print’s right foot.
A mirror works in the same way. The light bounces straight off each part
of you and into the mirror. The shiny surface behind the glass bounces
the light straight back. So the reflection you see is a \”light print.”
Each part of you makes the opposite part of your reflection in the
mirror.
What do you think will happen if you print your name and hold it up to a
mirror? Try it and see.
