Distorting Mirror

Mirror, mirror on the wall—what are you doing?

The Science Behind It

The mirror is not flat but curved, so it reflects light rays in different ways. Depending on the mirror’s shape, the rays are brought together or spread apart. This makes parts of your body appear larger or smaller. Objects often look larger in inward-curving areas and smaller in outward-curving areas. Your distance from the mirror also strongly affects the image: even small changes can create different distortions. Your brain still tries to turn these unfamiliar shapes into a recognizable image—and gets “tricked” in the process. The distorting mirror shows that what we see depends not only on reality, but also on how light reaches our eyes.