back to science gizmos

true mirror:




A "true mirror" is a mirror that shows you your reflection, flipped horizontally. So you see yourself as others
see you, not as you normally see yourself in a mirror. Some people don't like having their picture taken,
or don't like how they look in pictures. The subtle differences in a person's face where there isn't quite the
symmetry that one would expect, can be unsettling to some. Seeing it live in a true mirror can intensify
the effect.

It works by using two "first surface" mirrors that meet at a 90 degree angle, with the seam where they meet
has been made very difficult to notice. Though once you see the seam, it will always run right down the
center of your face, right down the middle of your nose, regardless of how you hold the mirror, which is
equally strange. They can be a bit expensive for what's in them, but I find the effect to be worth it.

True mirrors have other party tricks as well, such as being able to read any text held up to them, since it's
not reversed. And if you wink your right eye, you will see your reflection also wink its right eye, but that
eye will be on the left of your image, just as anyone else would look if they were winking their right eye
at you. Unfortunately, the path back to you is longer than a standard mirror, so the reflected image will
appear a few inches farther away than in a normal mirror.



non-reversing mirror ($44 at Amazon)

blue	booklet1	booklet2	normal vs true	translated1	translated2
true mirror

highest resolution images
last updated 05/23/2025 at 15:44:46 by make_www_index.command version 2025.05.20.B