Convex mirrors

Mirror structure:
Before mirrors, people looked at themselves in rivers, ponds or streams to
observe their reflection. The first mirrors used by men were made of stones or
polished metals in order to obtain a reflective surface such as copper, lead,
bronze or tin.
In 1835, the German chemist Justus Von Liebig invented the mirror that we
know today. It adds a layer of silver nitrate to the glass, although today
aluminum can also be used. This technique is much less toxic than the previous
one. It is from this moment that we will mass produce mirrors and they will
appear in many homes. Its price remained very substantial for a long time,
becoming affordable. Mirrors later became more popular in the 20th century.
The mirror is now a common everyday object, but this has not always been the
case. This essential object is the result of a whole story that has made it
possible to specify the reflection that it sends back to us. It starts thousands of
years ago. This proves that even if we are obsessed with our image today, man
has always felt the need to see himself.

Introduction of the mirror:

A mirror is an optical instrument that reflects light. When we are standing in
front of a mirror, we see an image of ourselves in the mirror. Why are we able
to see our image? It is due to the reflection of light, in fact it is due to multiple
reflections of light rays. How? The light rays from the source are first incident
on our body, they bounce off from our body and fall on the surface of the
mirror and again gets reflected from there, this reflected light then reaches our
eyes and we see our image.
Mirror consists of a polished surface, often metallic, placed under a glass plate.
The reflection image of an illuminated object is formed on the polished
surface.
The quality sought for a mirror is that it provides a clear image. Reference is
then made to a stigmatic optical instrument which gives a sharp image of an
object point.
There are flat mirrors, spherical mirrors, or parabolic. When they are not
planar, they can be convex or concave.

Spherical mirrors
Spherical mirrors are curved. If a spherical mirror appears to encircle the
object, it is said to be concave or convergent. Otherwise, the mirror is said to
be convex or divergent.
When viewed from the front, the concave mirror appears hollowed out, while
the convex mirror appears domed.
Because of their ease of manufacture, the most commonly used curved mirrors
are spherical mirrors.

1. Center of curvature:
Spherical mirrors are characterized by a vertex S and a center of curvature C.
The center of curvature of a concave mirror is in front of the mirror, while that
of a convex mirror is behind the mirror.

2. Radius of curvature:
We define the radius of curvature R of a spherical mirror by the segment SC
where C is the center of curvature.
For a concave mirror R > 0, while for a convex mirror R < 0 . Plane mirrors have
an infinite radius.
The radius of curvature of a concave mirror is positive, while that of a convex
mirror is negative.
The greater the radius of curvature of a mirror, in absolute value, the closer it
comes to a plane mirror. In the limit, a plane mirror could be considered as a
curved mirror having an infinite radius of curvature.
3. Hearth:
The focal point of the mirror is the point towards which the incident rays
parallel to the principal axis are deflected. It is located halfway between the
top of the mirror and its center of curvature. It is identified by the letter F.
The distance between the focus and the mirror is called focal length and is
identified lf. It is equal to half the radius of curvature of the mirror: lf = R/2.
The focus of a concave mirror is said to be real, while that of a convex mirror is
said to be virtual.

4. Main axis:
The principal axis of a curved mirror is the axis passing both through the center
of curvature C of the mirror and its focus F. It is commonly called the optical
axis.

5. Summit:
The vertex is the point of intersection between the surface of the mirror and
its main axis. It is identified by the letter S.

A convex mirror is a spherical reflecting surface in which its bulging side faces
the light source. There are numerous uses of the convex mirror which is also
referred to as the fish-eye mirror by automobile enthusiasts and diverging
mirror by physicists. The term ‘diverging mirror’ is based on its behavior of
making rays diverge upon reflection. This means that when a parallel light ray
hits a convex mirror, it reflects outwards and travels directly away from an
imaginary focal point.

The convex mirror always forms a virtual image of the object, and the image
formed by the convex mirror is smaller than the size of the actual object.
Therefore, the most common convex mirror uses are in places where bigger
objects are to be viewed in a smaller size. Since convex mirrors have a wider
view field than concave and plane mirrors, they are mostly used inside mirrors
of automobiles. Some of the most vital and common uses of convex mirrors
are described below.
Convex mirrors used inside buildings:
Large offices, stores, and hospitals use a convex mirror to let people see
around the corner so that they can avoid running into each other and prevent
any collision.
Convex mirrors used in vehicles:
Convex mirrors are widely used as rear-view mirrors in automobiles and
vehicles because they can diverge light beams and make virtual images.
Uses of the convex mirror in a magnifying glass:
Convex mirrors are widely used for making magnifying glasses. In order to
make a magnifying glass, two convex mirrors are placed back to back.
Convex mirrors used for security purposes:
Convex mirrors are also used for security purposes in various places. They are
placed near ATMs so that bank customers can check if someone is behind
them.These are some of the common convex mirrors used in the practical
world. Convex mirrors are also used in various other places, like street light
reflectors, as they can spread light over bigger areas. They are also used to
make telescopes and ceiling dome mirrors.

The position of a sharp image q associated with the position of an object

p in front of a spherical mirror depends only on the radius of
curvature R when the constraint of the rays is applied
1 1 2 yi −q
paraxial: + = and
p q R yo = p

where p: Distance between the object and the mirror (m)

q: Distance between the image and the mirror (m)
R: Radius of curvature of the mirror (m)
R<0 (convex mirror), p>0 (real object) and q<0 (virtual image)

the relationship between the radius of curvature of a convex mirror and its
focus is as follows:
R
f= 2

where f: mirror focal length (m), f<0 (convex mirror)

R:radius of curvature of the mirror (m).