Mirrors - Cylindrical Amusement Park Mirrors


 

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 Code Number :   6A20.50

Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

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Condition :   Excellent  
Principle :   Curved Mirrors 
Area of Study :  Optics   
Equipment :   Bendable metal or Plexiglas mirror sheets.

 

Procedure :   Bend the mirror along either of the two axis and observe the image as you move the object farther away from the mirror.  At some point the image should turn upside down.  When the image is upside down there should also be no perversion.  The focal point of the mirror can also be changed by the amount of curvature applied.
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   References

Martin Gardner,  "Physics Trick of the Month: the Unreversed Reflection,"  TPT, Vol. 34, # 9, p. 563, (Dec 1996)

Se-yuen Mak,  "Low-Cost Cylindrical Mirrors,"  TPT, Vol. 31, # 3, p. 186, (March 1993).

T. H. Ansbacher,  "Deck the Halls: The Nonreversing Mirror with a Twist,"  TPT, Vol. 25, # 2, p. 104, (February 1987).

Thomas M. Holzberlein, "How to Become Dizzy with Derman's Optical Puzzle", TPT, Vol. 20, # 6, Sept. 1982, p. 401.

Samuel Derman, "An Optical Puzzle That Will Make Your Head Spin", TPT, Vol. 19, # 6, Sept. 1981, p. 395.

Paul E. Wack, "Cylindrical Mirrors", TPT, Vol. 19, # 6, Sept. 1981, p. 581.

Robert H. Johns, "Flexible Mirrors", TPT, Vol. 10, # 5, May 1972, p. 266.

 

Alan C. Traub, "Two Teaching Demonstrations Using Flexible Mirrors", AJP, Vol. 35, # 6, June 1967, p. 534.

 

O-140:  "Mirror on Chest,"  DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

 

"52, An Optical Puzzle,"  Christopher P. Jargodzki and Franklin Potter,  Mad About Physics, p. 18, 168.

"Cylindrical Mirror,"  Exploratorium Science Snackbook, p. 35.1.

 



Mail Questions and Comments to:  Dale Stille