Why do mirrors flip things horizontally but not vertically? | James May Q&A | Head Squeeze

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United Kingdom BBC Earth Science
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Published on ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH35EwyKoPA


Duration: 3:45
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A mirror is made from a sheet of glass with reflective material applied to one side of the glass. Designed to reflect lights, mirrors are used everywhere from making sure we scrub behind out ears in the morning, to helping us reverse around corners without crashing into a wall.

But what are mirrors exactly?

A mirror is like an old fashioned transparency photograph viewed the wrong way around. A mirror doesn't reverse left and right, it reverses back to front. Writing appears back to front in a mirror because we present it back to front!

Go on; have a go writing BUM the wrong way around in front of a mirror!

Wondered where the glass in the mirror comes from? Check out James' vid on whether glass is really made from sand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74RJQKzpNU&list=PLMrtJn-MOYmfqNgyPxx6NYMZnd25y4shc&index=68

Or did you wake up this morning and wonder why there was a scruffy beardy bloke staring back at you? Greg Foot has a great vid on why men have facial hair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewwpkDghTeQ&list=PLMrtJn-MOYmcMLEnLKQjjxJqled29hSLB&index=6

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Tags:
Head
Squeeze
Head squeeze
headsqueeze
Mirrors
How to Mirrors work?
James May
James May answers
Why do police cars have backwards writing on them?
What is a mirror?
Greg Foot
Why do men have facial hair?
Where does glass come from?
what is glass made from?
Is glass made from sand?