Do two mirrors reflect infinitely?

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asked Apr 28, 2024 in Science by bucket2full (2,660 points)
Do two mirrors reflect infinitely?

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answered May 22, 2024 by Karenedwords (3,480 points)
Two mirrors do reflect infinitely when they are facing each other.

Anything divided by zero is considered to be infinite, hence we get infinite images when two mirrors face each other.

But they don't go on forever. Each time light bounces between the mirrors, a tiny bit of it gets absorbed or scattered.

So, with each reflection, the image gets a little dimmer.

The difference between one way mirror and a two way mirror is a one way mirror has the reflective material on one side and is coated with material that is translucent on the other side.

A two way mirror is a mirror that has a reflective surface on one side and a clear surface on the other side.

When a mirror is facing another mirror it is called an infinity mirror.

Infinity mirrors are a type of mirror that is sometimes used as room accents or in works of art.

An infinity mirror effect that is viewed between paired mirrors in a in a public restroom.

It's always fun to look at the multiple reflections formed by opposing mirrors in lifts, washrooms and the like.

But while they seem to extend into the infinite, in reality they get progressively darker and fade into invisibility long before they get there.

A mirror facing another mirror is often seen in movies or photos, when two mirrors are placed directly opposite each other, an infinite virtual image is created (an image you can't touch).

Basically, the same image is flipped -as it would in a flat/plane mirror- an infinite number of times, getting smaller each time.

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