Why do mirrors reflect images backwards (left to right), but not up and down?
by 
wickedwillie
ANSWERS: 4
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That really depends on what you mean by "left" and "right". Here's a good explanation of how there are different answers for different interpretations of "left to right". http://www.mathpages.com/home/kmath441.htm
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Really, mirrors reverse IN and OUT. Go look! A good explanation is here: http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/refln/u13l2a.html And an even better one here: http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/mirrors.html If you don't believe it, try looking in a mirror, and then turn your head sideways, so your ears point up and down. What happens?
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Why is a print (handprint, linocut, potato print) reversed? Think of the mirror as a print of your body and all makes sense.
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They don't reverse left and right -- that's why they confuse us. We face an image of ourselves and automatically reverse left and right mentally, trying to compensate for what looks like the 180 degree in the direction the image is facing. But the mirror reflects back exactly what it sees -- your left hand is on the left hand of the mirror . . . left hand as you face it.
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