Why are objects in the mirror closer than they appear?

1.15K views

Why are objects in the mirror closer than they appear?

In: Physics

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Some mirrors are curved distorting the image in the reflection making the appear smaller, hence they look like they are further away, so that you get a better field of view in the mirror. This is often used on car mirrors to reduce the blind spots around the car. Normally a car mirror will only allow the driver to see a small section behind them meaning there is a huge section next to the car where the driver does not have any vision of in their normal driving position. But by curving the side mirror the driver is able to see a much greater section behind and to the side of them allowing them to spot things they would not otherwise have seen. The issue is of course that things appear smaller making it harder to judge distances when backing. Something that might look tiny in the mirror might actually be right behind the car so the driver needs to take extra care when backing up using the mirrors. Some cars might have double mirrors where one is curved and the other is streight allowing the driver to both get a great field of view and judge distances to things behind them.

Anonymous 0 Comments

That is usually only in reference to the passenger side mirror in cars, which are very slightly convex (curved outward). This curve means the mirror reflects a wider area, giving the driver a larger field of view on the far side of the car. It also means that everything appears SMALLER, which means the brain thinks everything in that mirror is further away than it really is.

Anonymous 0 Comments

The mirror is slightly bowed outwards (convex) so you can see a wider field. It’s like a Christmas ornament. One of the side effects of doing this is it makes things look further away.