History

• Woman Reflected in Water
  
  Imagine if the only way to see yourself was in a pool of water or a highly polished piece of copper, bronze, silver or tin. Your reflection would actually be more of a novelty. For centuries, mirrors were usually just handheld polished metals without glass, until the metal backed glass was invented in the 12th century. An amalgam was made of 75 percent tin and 25 percent mercury and attached to the back of a flat sheet of glass. Craftsmen guarded the highly complicated process as a secret until the demand grew great enough and the process was imitated throughout the world. Beautiful mirrors with elaborate frames were enjoyed by royalty because the early mirrors were costly and not economically practical for a common citizen.
  
  

Significance

• Boy Looking in Concave Mirror
  
  Inventing the mirror was almost as important as the invention of the wheel. It has been so incorprated into our lives that we are unaware of how important it is and how much we rely upon it. Mirrors are used in lighting to reflect beams of light in different directions. Mirrors are used in flashlights and microscopes. They are used in hundreds of tools by almost every profession to help the user see details they could not see normally with the naked eye. Mirrors are bent to reflect images or light reflected and are used to expand narrow vision. Home decor uses mirrors to open space and reflect light. Entertainment industries use mirrors to enhance visual appeal of people and merchandise. We are instinctively drawn to look at the shine and reflection found in mirrors.
  
  

Types

• Modern Bathroom Mirror
  
  Making a mirror is now a process of allowing a liquid metal, usually aluminum, to condense or coat the back of a plane of glass. It is a chemical process that involves the use of tin, which bonds to glass, the aluminum or silver, which is the reflective substance, copper, which adds a durable covering, and then paint to protect the whole surface. Mercury is no longer because of its toxicity.
  Other methods that involve using electricity to adhere the reflective substance to the glass are used when a higher rate of reflectivity is needed, specifically in scientific settings.
  In the case of two-way mirrors, the reflective coating is applied to the glass but at a much thinner concentration so that light is actually still able to pass through the glass from one direction allowing the viewer to see through from one side and only seeing a reflection of themselves on the other.
  Mirrors that are made with silver as the reflecting agent are made in almost the same way. The sheet of glass is cleaned and stannous chloride is applied much like the tin in the aluminum process. The silver nitrate is sprayed on, the glass is rinsed and a copper/zinc solution is applied. After a period of drying, a protective coating of zinc is applied.
  
  

Identification

• Woman Looking in the Mirror
  
  A mirror is simply a reflective devise. It reflects an image seen straight back at the person viewing it. If the glass is curved either in a concave or convex way, the image reflected will be condensed or stretched. If a mirror is used for general use such as in bathrooms and other home decor, it can also be called a looking-glass, once the term given to mirrors.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Child in Broken Mirror
  
  Breaking a mirror will not cause you bad luck. It is an old superstition from the days when people thought they were looking at their souls in the reflection on the mirror. Breaking a mirror is more likely to hurt you by a cut or by the nuisance of having to go and purchase a new mirror. The Amish are people who have religious opposition to using mirrors in their homes. They believe the scripture that says "no graven images" applies to mirrors.
  
  

Considerations

• Shower Mirror Wiper
  
  Using a mirror is almost always practical unless you are trying to use it in a setting with almost no light or excess humidity as in a shower. Because mirrors reflect light, if the light is not there or if the reflective surface loses its reflectivity, such as in a bathroom shower or a frost-covered rearview car mirror, the mirror will not work.