Why do mirrors flip images side-to-side but not top-to-bottom?
Asked by
CWOTUS (
26102
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May 27th, 2016
This has been the subject of an informal discussion between a couple of people in the office today who are (obviously) not wholly competent to answer it.
When we look in a mirror, from experience we know that “mirror right” represents “my left” and vice versa. That is, the image appears on its face to have been “flipped” from left-to-right and right-to-left. Granted. We all get that; we see it every day.
So the question is: Why doesn’t the image ALSO appear to be flipped top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top?
Our discussion got pretty lively, and was not completely resolved to the satisfaction of the other party (though he seems to think so). I’m satisfied with what I understand now, so I’m in no particular need for an answer – and not even interested enough until now to google the answer. I know what I know, and I’m in no more mystery. But it seemed like an interesting question, so there you go.
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8 Answers
”When we look in a mirror, from experience we know that “mirror right” represents “my left” and vice versa.”
Uh. No. That is what happens when another person is standing in front of you.
In the mirror, the hand you see on the right side, is your right hand.
It’s the principle known as “graven gravity” first theorized by philosopher Gif Hayes in 1711, following Issac Newton’s discovery of gravity.
Simply put, any object with enough ‘gravitas’ to cast an image in a mirror is subsequently subject to the laws of gravity.
There are no reflections in space unless there is some anchor point to simulate gravity.
Your image isn’t flipped.
If you press yourself against the mirror, you right hand is touching the image of your right hand, your left hand is touching the image of your left hand, etc.
If you hold your palm up to the mirror, the image is just like you would get by putting ink on your hand and making a palm print on paper.
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It isn’t flipped side to side, it is flipped front to back. A mirror flips along the axis perpendicular to its surface.
There is no image in the mirror. It is a reflection.
Depending on your eye position, the mirror simply reflects the image at an opposite angle. Up stays up, down stays down, and the sides stay where they are.
It can be confusing, especially to an electorate that just nominated The Donald.
Your next question on Fluther should be about your resume.
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