Convex mirrors, they have been an integral part of shops for many a year, I don’t think there is one newsagent in the Great British Isles that doesn’t have one of these in the corner of their shop.
But with the vast array of the digital security available why are they still so popular? And, a question many of us have probably asked at some point in our lives, how do they actually work?
How does it work?
In one sentence a convex mirror works in the following way:
“By reflecting parallel rays of light as if they all emanated from a single point somewhere behind the mirror”
The image you see on a convex mirror is a virtual image, this is because the light bouncing off never converges, it’s this distorted image that gives you a wider field of view than a normal mirror is capable of, allowing you to, for example;
- Use as a reflector in streetlamps
In addition, most of us use a convex mirror every day, in the form of your rear view car mirror.
Why are they so popular?
Convex mirrors are valued purely for their versatility, we only just touched the tip of the iceberg with the examples we gave above, and they can be used across many sectors including industrial, retail, and commercial.
As well as their versatility, people appreciate their cost-effectiveness; whilst having top-end tech installed is a great, technology changes so often you may soon be behind the times, with a convex mirror you have no outdated software or hardware, and the heavy duty versions are virtually unbreakable. Best of all, if they do break, it won’t break your wallet when you have to replace them.