A plane mirror is a
mirror
A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...
with a flat (
planar) reflective surface. For
light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...
rays striking a plane mirror, the angle of
reflection equals the angle of incidence. The angle of the incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the
surface normal
In geometry, a normal is an object such as a line, ray, or vector that is perpendicular to a given object. For example, the normal line to a plane curve at a given point is the (infinite) line perpendicular to the tangent line to the curve ...
(an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface). Therefore, the angle of reflection is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal and a
collimated beam of light does not spread out after reflection from a plane mirror, except for
diffraction effects.
A plane mirror makes an image of objects in front of the mirror; these images appear to be behind the plane in which the mirror lies. A straight line drawn from part of an object to the corresponding part of its image makes a right angle with, and is bisected by, the surface of the plane mirror. The image formed by a plane mirror is
virtual (meaning that the light rays do not actually come from the image) it is not
real image
{{citations needed, date=June 2019
In optics, an ''image'' is defined as the collection of focus points of light rays coming from an object. A real image is the collection of focus points actually made by converging/diverging rays, while a ...
(meaning that the light rays do actually come from the image). it is always upright, and of the same shape and size as the object it is reflecting. A virtual image is a copy of an object formed at the location from which the light rays appear to come. Actually, the image formed in the mirror is a perverted image (
Perversion), there is a misconception among people about having confused with perverted and laterally-inverted image. If a person is reflected in a plane mirror, the image of his right hand appears to be the left hand of the image.
Plane mirrors are the only type of mirror for which a object produces an image that is virtual, erect and of the same size as the object in all cases irrespective of the shape, size and distance from mirror of the object however same is possible for other types of mirror (concave and convex) but only for a specific conditions . However the
focal length
The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foc ...
of a plane mirror is
infinity
Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol .
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ...
;
its optical power is zero.
Using the mirror equation, where
is the object distance,
is the image distance, and
is the focal length:
''Since''