• Question: When you look at your reflection in a spoon why are you upsidedown???

    Asked by 387fddk26 to Ciara, Gonzalo, Yvonne on 17 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Ciara O'Donovan

      Ciara O'Donovan answered on 17 Nov 2017:

      This is kind of difficult to explain.. basically light rays travel in a straight line until they hit something and if this object is slanted (such as a spoon) the reflected light is at an angle causing our reflection to appear upsidedown.. This video might help.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6n0FAZ_6N8

    • Photo: Gonzalo Delgado-Pando

      Gonzalo Delgado-Pando answered on 17 Nov 2017:

      It has to do with physics and how it reflects the image. The back of the spoon is a convex mirror that makes the miages smaller, and the front is a concave mirror where the image is usually upside down, and the closer you are to the mirror, the larger the image, up to a certain point. Beyond this point, the image flips right side up. Concave mirrors are the kinds of mirrors that get used in telescopes.

      Here is an explanation about it: https://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1985

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