Mirrors reflect light due to their smooth, highly polished surface backed by a reflective material—typically aluminum or silver—that prevents light from passing through. When light strikes a mirror, the electromagnetic waves bounce off the reflective backing at precisely the same angle they arrived (angle of incidence equals angle of reflection), maintaining the light’s organization and creating a perfect reflection. Modern mirrors achieve 95-99% reflectivity through precise manufacturing techniques. Unlike rough surfaces that scatter light in multiple directions, mirrors’ perfect smoothness (variations smaller than the wavelength of visible light) ensures coherent reflection. This fundamental optical principle explains why mirrors accurately reproduce images while maintaining proper orientation, just reversed left-to-right.
