Image and symbol must not be confused. Note that any such image must be illuminated in order to be seen. Note that there can only be an image of an isolated attached object in the air, or of a sample of a surrounding environment. A pictorial or a sculptural image that is supposed to exist in the realm of the mind but not in the realm of matter. The mental image does not have to be illuminated or transilluminated in order to be experienced.
Many perplexities arise from the assumption that a image can be mental.
Mirror image . A virtua l object, person, place, or event that appears to exist at some definite distance behind a very smooth polished surface. The misperception occurs because visual solid angles coming from the real object have been reflected regularly at the mirror surface in accordance with the rule of equality of the angles of incidence and reflection. It is also more nearly comparable to the progressive image than the arrested image, since the virtual object moves as the real object moves, but not in just the same way. Virtual objects are produced by other optical devices than a plane mirror, e.g., a telescope or a microscope.