The image in a plane mirror

The image in a plane mirror seems to be somewhere in space behind the mirror, this type of image is called a virtual image. It is actually the same distance from the mirror as the object is in front of the mirror. (See Figure 1). You can see the image but you can't actually touch it or focus it on a surface. The light rays from the object spread out, hit the mirror and then reflect – they seem to have come from a point behind the mirror. This is the image of the object.

Image in a plane mirror animation

For the schoolphysics animation showing the image in a plane mirror please click the symbol:

It also looks as though it is reversed from left to right, this last property is called LATERAL INVERSION.