A question about mirrors... can anyone explain this?

Question

So, mirrors kind of trip me out in general, but I have a specific question:

Mirrors are a physical object right? so you should be able to see them from the distance at which they are away from you. But when mirror is close to you, and you are nearsighted, things in the mirror that are being reflected from far away are still blurred. Why is this? If the mirror is close to you why aren't the objects clear? Can anyone explain this?

Answer 1

Man you ask some good questions. I would like to know to. I'll keep looking at tthis page. lol.

Answer 2

The distance to the mirror is irrelevant.

It is the LIGHT from the object that is coming all that distance, reflected from the mirror and into your eye.

If you are 'nearsighted' your eye is unable to effectively focus this light because of the distance from which it has come. This distance is the same regardless of the fact that it has been reflected by a mirror. Just remember the mirror has done nothing to the light except changed it's direction. It hasn't focussed the light or anything that would enable you to see the image clearer.

[[why exactly can a nearsighted person not correctly focus light when it has come from a distance? basically, the light rays coming from a distance are more diverged and require a greater amount of refraction upon entering the eye. A nearsighted person is unable to refract the light well enough for it to be focussed.]]

You're not looking AT the MIRROR. You're receiving light which has travelled a long distance and been reflected by the mirror into your eye. Therefore it will still be blurry.

If you want to make it clear, you'll need a lens external to the eye to focus the light. A mirror will only reflect it so that it is going in a different direction.

Answer 3

That is because focal point of an image in a mirror is the same distance behind the mirror as the distance that the real object is from the front of the mirror. Make sense? Straight from the text book.

Answer 4

because they are still far away

Answer 5

It depends on the type of mirrors with convex mirrors, you should se images of  all objects smaller than the object. In concave mirrors it depends on the radius  and position of object

Answer 6

well, because the ligth coming from far away is not as dense and focoused as the ligth coming from neigbourhood

Answer 7

Basically, you are not looking at the mirror. Unlike a picture painting or a TV monitor, the images you see on the face of the mirror are refections of the distant objects. You must focus on these distant objects to see them. Even if their image is reflected upon a surface before reaching your eyes.