PickyKidPix broke her full length mirror, not once but twice. I hope that’s not 14 years of bad luck. She hated the replacement mirror that my husband installed and wanted to replace it, yet again, herself.
This mirror drama got my son thinking and asking about how mirrors work. I was hoping that he could build his own mirror as a science experiment, but it turns out that mirrors are quite complicated to make.
Here’s how mirrors work:
When photons — rays of light — coming from an object (your smiling face, for example) strike the smooth surface of a mirror, they bounce back at the same angle. Your eyes see these reflected photons as a mirror image. from Wonderopolis
Here are some definitions from Wikipedia to help in understanding the video below.
Light: the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.
Atom: the smallest constituent unit of ordinary matter that has the properties of a chemical element.
Photon: an elementary particle, the quantum of all forms of electromagnetic radiation including light.
Speed: the rate at which someone or something is able to move or operate.
Now that you (kind of) understand how mirrors work, how are mirrors made? This video starts with the history of mirrors. An amalgam of tin and mercury developed by the Venetians in the 14th century was the foundation for the mirrors that we use today. As you can see from this video, it’s not easy to make a mirror at home!
There you have it: How Mirrors Work and How Mirrors Are Made! I hope you enjoyed this!
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.
I love how you take an issue and turn it into a teachable moment with your kids. Even, I found this very interesting.
Hi Patricia,
I had hoped to find a way to make a mirror with my son but the more I learned, I realized that it’s just too complicated and difficult to try at home. So the videos are my best shot to explain my son’s question. Thanks for your kind words (as always!).
What a fascinating construction process! That mirror cutting machine is like a giant Silhouette!
Hi MaryAnne,
My son likes that show about how things are made. I had no idea that a normal mirror is quite complicated to manufacture. My middle daughter has broken 3 mirrors so far too!
Did you know that you could make a simple mirror (no idea of the price!) by painting glass with gallium? (I know this because I did a school project on gallium)
Cool post! And I really hope that you daughter doesn’t have many years of bad luck to come. ( that’d be pretty unlucky! 😉 )
Hi Erik,
That is cool! How do you get gallium? I need to look into that!!!
Or, at least I think it was gallium. It may have been zinc (I switched projects at some point.) I hope it works out! 🙂
Hi Erik,
I’ll look into that! Thanks!