The concave mirror has a reflecting surface that curves inwards resembling a portion of the interior of a sphere. The distance from the reflecting surface to the focal point is termed the mirror's focal length . The size of the image depends upon the distance of the object from the mirror and it's position with respect to the mirror surface. In this case, the soldier is placed at the center of curvature and the reflected image is upside down and in front of the mirror's center of curvature. The convex mirror has a reflecting surface that curves outward resembling a portion of the exterior of a sphere.
Images formed with convex mirrors are always right side up and reduced in size.
These images are also termed virtual images because they occur where reflected rays appear to diverge from a focal point behind the mirror. For a unique demonstration of how these mirrors work, check out our interactive concave , concave virtual image , and convex mirror Java tutorials. Interactive Java Tutorial Mirror Tutorial Center Discover the properties of mirrors using our interactive tutorials. The reflection of visible light is crucial to the operation of most modern microscopes. Microscopes also make use of beam-splitters to allow some light to be reflected while simultaneously transmitting other light to different parts of the optical system.