Image formation by plane and curved mirrors (graphical method and mirror equation)

(Intro) (1st slide)

Good day! Today, we are going to discuss about the “Image formation by plane and
curved mirrors”

A mirror is a surface that reflects almost all incident light. Mirrors come in two
types: those with a flat surface, known as plane mirrors, and those with a curved
surface, called spherical/curved mirrors, which is composed of two specific types of
spherical mirrors: convex mirrors and concave mirrors.

(2nd slide)
Plane Mirrors

A plane mirror is a flat, smooth reflective surface with a clear, undistorted reflection.
When an object is reflected in a plane mirror, it always forms a virtual image that is
upright, of the same shape and size as the object.
(3rd Slide)

To understand how this happens, consider (Figure). Two rays emerge from
point P, strike the mirror, and reflect into the observer’s eye. Note that we use the
law of reflection to construct the reflected rays. If the reflected rays are extended
backward behind the mirror (see dashed lines in (Figure)), they seem to originate
from point Q. This is where the image of point P is located. If we repeat this process
for point P’, we obtain its image at point Q’. You should convince yourself by using
basic geometry that the image height (the distance from Q to Q’) is the same as the
object height (the distance from P to P’). By forming images of all points of the
object, we obtain an upright image of the object behind the mirror.
Two light rays originating from point P on an object are reflected by a flat
mirror into the eye of an observer. The reflected rays are obtained by using the law
of reflection. Extending these reflected rays backward, they seem to come from point
Q behind the mirror, which is where the virtual image is located. Repeating this
process for point P’ gives the image point Q’. The image height is thus the same as
the object height, the image is upright, and the object distance d o is the same as the
image distance, d i. (credit: modification of work by Kevin Dufendach)

(4th Slide)
Locating an image in a plane mirror
The law of reflection tells us that the angle of incidence is the same as the
angle of reflection. Applying this to triangles PAB and QAB in (Figure) and using
basic geometry shows that they are congruent triangles. This means that the
distance PB from the object to the mirror is the same as the distance BQ from the
mirror to the image. The object distance (denoted d o ) is the distance from the mirror
to the object (or, more generally, from the center of the optical element that creates
its image). Similarly, the image distance (denoted d i) is the distance from the mirror
to the image (or, more generally, from the center of the optical element that creates
it). If we measure distances from the mirror, then the object and image are in
opposite directions, so for a plane mirror, the object and image distances should
have the opposite signs:

d o =−d i

An extended object such as the container in (Figure) can be treated as a collection of

points, and we can apply the method above to locate the image of each point on the
extended object, thus forming the extended image.

(5th Slide)
Properties of Mirror images produced by plane mirrors
- The distance from the image to the mirror equals the distance from the object
to the mirror: d = d’
- The mirror image is upright but reversed right to left
- The mirror image is reversed front to back
- The mirror image is the same size as the object

(7th Slide)
Spherical/Curved mirrors

If the image in a plane mirror has the same size as the object, is upright, and is the
same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of the mirror. A curved
mirror, on the other hand, can form images that may be larger or smaller than the
object and may form either in front of the mirror or behind it. In general, any curved
surface will form an image, although some images can be so distorted as to be
unrecognizable (think of fun house mirrors).

Because curved mirrors can create such a rich variety of images, they are used in
many optical devices that find many uses. We will concentrate on spherical mirrors
for the most part, because they are easier to manufacture than mirrors such as
parabolic mirrors and so are more common.

(8th Slide)
 We can define two general types of spherical mirrors. If the reflecting surface
is the outer side of the sphere, the mirror is called a convex mirror. If the inside
surface is the reflecting surface, it is called a concave mirror.

(9th Slide)
Concave Mirror

A concave mirror is a curved mirror where the reflecting surface is on the inner side
of the curved shape. It has a surface that curves inward, resembling the shape of the
inner surface of a hollow sphere. Concave mirrors are also converging mirrors
because they cause light rays to converge or come together after reflection.
Depending on the position of the object and the mirror, concave mirrors can form
both real and virtual images.
(10th Slide)

Characteristics of Concave Mirrors

1. Converging Mirror: A concave mirror is often referred to as a converging

mirror because when light rays strike and reflect from its reflecting surface,
they converge or come together at a specific point known as the focal point.
This property of concave mirrors allows them to focus light to a point.
2. Magnification and Image Formation: When a concave mirror is placed very
close to the object, it forms a magnified, erect, and virtual image. The image
appears larger than the actual object and is upright. The virtual image is
formed as the reflected rays appear to diverge from a point behind the mirror.
3. Changing Distance and Image Properties: As the distance between the
object and the concave mirror increases, the size of the image decreases.
Eventually, at a certain distance, the image transitions from virtual to real. In
this case, a real and inverted image is formed on the opposite side of the
mirror.
4. Versatile Image Formation: Concave mirrors have the ability to create
images that can vary in size, from small to large, and in nature, from real to
virtual. These characteristics make concave mirrors useful in various
applications such as telescopes, shaving mirrors, and reflecting headlights.

(11th Slide)

Convex Mirror

A convex mirror is a curved mirror with the reflecting surface on the curved shape’s
outer side. It has a surface that curves outward, resembling the shape of the outer
surface of a sphere. Convex mirrors are also known as diverging mirrors because
they cause light rays to diverge or spread out after reflection. Convex mirrors always
form virtual, erect, and diminished images, regardless of the object’s position. They
are commonly used in applications requiring a wide field of view, such as rear-view
mirrors and security mirrors.

(12th Slide)
Characteristics of Convex Mirrors

1. Diverging Mirror: A convex mirror is commonly referred to as a diverging

mirror because when light rays strike its reflecting surface, they diverge or
spread out. Unlike concave mirrors, convex mirrors cause light rays to diverge
from a specific focal point.
2. Virtual, Erect, and Diminished Images: Regardless of the distance between
the object and the convex mirror, the images formed are always virtual, erect,
and diminished. The image appears upright, smaller than the actual object,
and behind the mirror. When traced backwards, the virtual image is formed by
the apparent intersection of diverging rays.
3. Wide Field of View: One of the significant characteristics of convex mirrors is
their ability to provide a wide field of view. Due to the outwardly curved shape,
convex mirrors can reflect a broader area compared to flat or concave mirrors.
This property makes them useful when a larger perspective is required, such
as in parking lots, intersections, or surveillance systems.
4. Image Distance and Size: Convex mirrors always produce virtual images
closer to the mirror than the object. The image formed by a convex mirror
appears diminished or smaller than the object. This reduction in image size
allows a greater expanse of the reflected scene to be captured within the
mirror’s field of view.

(13th Slide)

Using Ray Trace to Locate Images

To find the location of an image formed by a spherical mirror, we first use ray tracing,
which is the technique of drawing rays and using the law of reflection to determine
the reflected rays (later, for lenses, we use the law of refraction to determine
refracted rays). Combined with some basic geometry, we can use ray tracing to find
the focal point, the image location, and other information about how a mirror
manipulates light. In fact, we already used ray tracing above to locate the focal point
of spherical mirrors, or the image distance of flat mirrors. To locate the image of an
object, you must locate at least two points of the image. Locating each point requires
drawing at least two rays from a point on the object and constructing their reflected
rays. The point at which the reflected rays intersect, either in real space or in virtual
space, is where the corresponding point of the image is located. To make ray tracing
easier, we concentrate on four “principal” rays whose reflections are easy to
construct.

(Figure) shows a concave mirror and a convex mirror, each with an arrow-shaped
object in front of it. These are the objects whose images we want to locate by ray
tracing. To do so, we draw rays from point Q that are on the object but not on the
optical axis. We choose to draw our ray from the tip of the object. Principal ray 1
goes from point Q and travels parallel to the optical axis. The reflection of this ray
must pass through the focal point, as discussed above. Thus, for the concave mirror,
the reflection of principal ray 1 goes through focal point F, as shown in part (b) of the
figure. For the convex mirror, the backward extension of the reflection of principal ray
1 goes through the focal point (i.e., a virtual focus). Principal ray 2 travels first on the
line going through the focal point and then is reflected back along a line parallel to
the optical axis. Principal ray 3 travels toward the center of curvature of the mirror, so
it strikes the mirror at normal incidence and is reflected back along the line from
which it came. Finally, principal ray 4 strikes the vertex of the mirror and is reflected
symmetrically about the optical axis.
The four principal rays shown for both (a) a concave mirror and (b) a convex mirror.
The image forms where the rays intersect (for real images) or where their backward
extensions intersect (for virtual images).

For the concave mirror, the extended- image in this case forms between the focal
point and the center of curvature of the mirror. It is inverted with respect to the
object, is a real image, and is smaller than the object. Were we to move the object
closer to or farther from the mirror, the characteristics of the image would change.
For example, we show, as a later exercise, that an object placed between a concave
mirror and its focal point leads to a virtual image that is upright and larger than the
object. For the convex mirror, the extended image forms between the focal point and
the mirror. It is upright with respect to the object, is a virtual image, and is smaller
than the object.

Mirror Equation

(14th Slide)

For a plane mirror, we showed that the image formed has the same height and
orientation as the object, and it is located at the same distance behind the mirror as
the object is in front of the mirror. Although the situation is a bit more complicated for
curved mirrors, using geometry leads to simple formulas relating the object and
image distances to the focal lengths of concave and convex mirrors.

(15th Slide)

Consider the object OP shown in figure. The center of curvature of the mirror is
labeled C and is a distance R from the vertex of the mirror, as marked in the figure.
The object and image distances are labeled d o and d o and the object and image
heights are labeled h oand hi , respectively. The law of reflection tells us that
they have the same magnitude, but their signs must differ if we measure
angles from the optical axis. Thus, θ=−θ′. Taking the tangent of the
angles θ and θ′, and using the property that tan(−θ)=−tanθ, gives us

(16th Slide)
ho
tanθ=
do
'❑ hi
tanθ =−tan θ=
di
Therefore we get:

h o −hi −ho d o
= or =
do di hi di

(17th Slide)

Similarly, taking the tangent of ϕ and ϕ′ gives

ho
tan ϕ=
d o−R
hi
tan ϕ=−tan ϕ=
R−d i

Therefore:

ho −hi −ho d o−R

= or =
d o−R R−d i hi R−d i

(18th Slide)
Combining the two equations, it becomes

d o d o−R 1 1 2
= ⇒ + =
d i R−d i d o d i R
(19th Slide)
No approximation is required for this result, so it is exact. However, as discussed
above, in the small-angle approximation, the focal length of a spherical mirror is one-
half the radius of curvature of the mirror, or f =R/2. Inserting this into (Figure) gives
the mirror equation:

1 1 1
+ =
do di f

The mirror equation relates the image and object distances to the focal distance and
is valid only in the small-angle approximation. Although it was derived for a concave
mirror, it also holds for convex mirrors (proving this is left as an exercise).

(20 Slide)
Sign Convention

Using a consistent sign convention is very important in geometric optics. It assigns

positive or negative values for the quantities that characterize an optical system.
Understanding the sign convention allows you to describe an image without
constructing a ray diagram. This text uses the following sign convention:

● object distance is positive if the object is on the side of incoming light.

● image distance is positive if the image is on the side of outgoing light or
real images.
● focal length, f and radius, R are positive if the center is on the side of
outgoing light or for concave mirrors.
● image height is positive if the image is upright.

What does it mean to have a negative radius of curvature? This means simply that
the radius of curvature for a convex mirror is defined to be negative.
(21st Slide)

Image Magnification

Base on the figure on the Mirror Equation, we can see that the magnification or
ho
m= .
hi

If m is positive, the image is upright, and if m is negative, the image is inverted. If m

> 1, the image is larger than the object, and if m < 1, the image is smaller than the
object. With this definition of magnification, we get the following relation between the
vertical and horizontal object and image distances:
ho −d o
m= =
hi di

This is a very useful relation because it lets you obtain the magnification of the image
from the object and image distances, which you can obtain from the mirror equation.

(22nd Slide)

The radius of curvature of a convex mirror used for rearview on a car is 4.00 m. If the
location of the bus is 6 meters from this mirror, find the position of the image formed.

Given:

The radius of curvature (R)= +4.00 m

Object distance(do) = -6.00 m

Required:

Image distance(di) = ?
Solution:

First calculate the focal length, f

R + 4.00 m
f= = =2.00 m
2 2

Since we are looking for the image distance, d i , we can rearrange the equation
1 1 1 1 1 1
+ = ⇒ = −
do di f di f do

Substitute the given values to the derived formula

1 1 1
= −
di f do
1 1 1
= −
d i 2.00 m (−6.00)
1 3
=
di 2
d i=1.5 m behind the mirror

(Outro)
That is all about the image formation of plane and curved mirrors.