A convex mirror, fish eye mirror or diverging mirror, is a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. Convex mirrors reflect light outwards, therefore they are not used to focus light. Such mirrors always form a virtual image, since the focus (F) and the centre of curvature (2F) are both imaginary points "inside" the mirror, which cannot be reached. As a result, images formed by these mirrors cannot be projected on a screen, since the image is inside the mirror.
A collimated (parallel) beam of light diverges (spreads out) after reflection from a convex mirror, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the mirror.
Read more about Convex Mirror: Concave Mirrors, Mirror Shape
Famous quotes containing the word mirror:
“She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
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Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror cracked from side to side;
“The curse is come upon me,” cried
The Lady of Shalott.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)