What colour is a mirror ? It sounds like one of those deep , self-contradictory questions a Buddhist Thelonious Sphere Monk might ponder on top of a mess , but the reply is actually surprisingly straightforward : it ’s a weak tad of light green .
At least that ’s the case with most mirrors you plausibly bump on a regular basis . The absolute majority of household mirror are manufacture using a soda water - caustic lime silica glass substrate and a silver backing . This combination is what gives mirror their greenish chromaticity , though you would n’t know it just by staring at your own musing .
The wraith becomes detectable when two mirrors are post in front of each other , create the ostensibly uncounted number of reflections experience as a mirror burrow . In their2004 paper , researchersRaymond L. Lee , Jr.andJavierHernández - Andréstalk about paying a sojourn to the Science Museum in Grenada , Spain to appraise images return by the mirror tunnel there . They come upon that the mirror best reflected light source at wavelengths between 495 and 570 nanometers , which is what the human eye perceive to be green .
As easy bounce back and away from one mirror to the next , the mirror ’s reflective capabilities gradually damp . If someone is looking at the reflection produced in a mirror tunnel , the abstemious waves have already been reflected several meter over before reaching their eye , thus making the dark-green color of the mirror ’s material more striking .
If you respond “ livid ” to the doubtfulness , “ what colour is a mirror ? ” that would n’t necessarily be wrong either . White is the color that reflects all the seeable wavelengths that make up the colouring spectrum . The reason that you ca n’t see your reflection in a tabloid of paper is because white target spread lighting in all dissimilar focussing , while mirror reflect light back in the same direction they came from . “ Bad Astronomer ” Phil Plait describes mirrors as a “ smart sort of clean . ” Now that this closed book has been solved , it ’s time to agitate focus to bigger dubiousness like , “ what ’s the strait of one hand clapping ? ” and “ why do cats purr ? "
[ h / t : io9 ]
