- #1
Anonymous9001
- 11
- 0
If you place two mirrors directly on top of each other what exactly happens? My physics teacher says that it will create a perfectly black body?
What Happens When Mirrors Face Each Other?
- Context: High School
- Thread starter Anonymous9001
- Start date
-
- Tags
- Mirrors
Click For Summary
Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the behavior of light and perception when two mirrors are placed facing each other. Participants explore concepts related to reflections, the nature of light, and the mechanics of vision. The scope includes theoretical considerations and conceptual clarifications regarding optics and human perception.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Conceptual clarification
Main Points Raised
- One participant questions the outcome of placing two mirrors directly on top of each other, suggesting it may create a perfectly black body, as stated by their physics teacher.
- Another participant clarifies that if mirrors face each other with a light source present, multiple reflections will occur, but in darkness, they behave like any other object.
- There is a discussion about the necessity of light entering the eye for vision, with one participant affirming that light must travel through the eye to be perceived.
- Further exploration occurs regarding the nature of light perception, with a participant questioning whether what we see is merely individual photons traveling towards our eyes.
- One participant elaborates on the process of seeing, explaining that photons must enter the eye and interact with retinal molecules to trigger the perception of light, emphasizing that a single photon cannot be seen directly.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants generally agree on the necessity of light entering the eye for vision, but there are differing views on the implications of reflections between mirrors and the nature of seeing photons.
Contextual Notes
The discussion includes assumptions about the behavior of light and the mechanics of vision that may not be fully explored, such as the conditions under which reflections occur and the limitations of human perception of individual photons.
- #2
JaredJames
- 2,822
- 22
Facing each other?
You get a lot of reflections (assuming a light source). If not, it's no different to anything else in the dark.
You get a lot of reflections (assuming a light source). If not, it's no different to anything else in the dark.
- #3
AstrophysicsX
- 61
- 0
In order to see light, it mst travel through our eyes correct?
- #4
Drakkith
Mentor
- 23,205
- 7,687
Yes, light needs to enter your eye in order for you to see.
- #5
AstrophysicsX
- 61
- 0
What exactly do we see? Is the light we see just individual photons traveling from a source towards our eyes?
If so, say we set up an experiment where 1 photon is traveling through space past two observers. Also, say these observers were small enough to see the photon. Who would see it?
If so, say we set up an experiment where 1 photon is traveling through space past two observers. Also, say these observers were small enough to see the photon. Who would see it?
- #6
Drakkith
Mentor
- 23,205
- 7,687
AstrophysicsX said:
For you to see anything a photon (in reality MANY photons) must enter your eye, strike a specific molecule in your retina and cause that molecule to change shape. This sets off a chain of events that eventually causes your brain to "see" something.
You couldn't SEE a photon. The process of seeing involves absorbing photons that are emitted or reflected off of other objects and absorbed in your eye. Since nothing can bounce off of a photon, there isn't anything to see. It quite literally doesn't look like anything.
Similar threads
Undergrad
Fabry-Perot Interferometer mirrors
- · Replies 7 ·
- · Replies 35 ·
- · Replies 6 ·
Undergrad
Mirror rotates any polarisation by 90°?
- · Replies 6 ·
- · Replies 172 ·
High School
How would light work on a mirror very far away?
- · Replies 11 ·
- · Replies 10 ·
- · Replies 26 ·
- · Replies 12 ·
- · Replies 1 ·