• Cralder
    link
    English
    2210 hours ago

    This is actually really interesting and I think about it every time I look in a large mirror. IIRC it is because the mirror is always “halfway” between you and your mirror image. So as you step back your mirror image gets further away and looks smaller, but so does the mirror.

    • @Katana314
      link
      English
      78 hours ago

      Right, but this only works if you have DuckDuckGo set as your search engine.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      010 hours ago

      Nah if u step back far enough it should show your whole body. The only exception being if its angled weirdly or if its not flat but curved in a special way.

      • @Bassman1805
        link
        9
        edit-2
        6 hours ago

        Nope, the geometry actually works out such that it doesn’t matter your distance from the mirror, only how tall the mirror is and how high it’s mounted.

        A mirror that is as half as tall as your, mounted at head height, will show your white whole body regardless of how far away you are from it. TECHNICALLY, the bottom edge must be halfway between your eyes and feet, and the top edge must be halfway between your eyes and top of head.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          99 hours ago

          Well at least you didn’t call my body pasty white, I haven’t been to the lake as much as I wanted this year.

          Joking aside, I believe vsauce had a short about this, was useful to get a visual.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        310 hours ago

        If you’d be so kind, how far do you have to get away from a flat mirror to show your whole image?

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          -3
          edit-2
          9 hours ago

          Depends on the size of the mirror and how far it is off the ground. If its a full sized 2m tall mirror then the min distance is obviously zero. If its a small bathroom sink mirror that doesnt go down to the floor, then you need to be really far away, further than you can be in a bathroom.

          • Tar_Alcaran
            link
            fedilink
            17 hours ago

            Uhhh no, that’s not how angles work.

            The further you get away from a mirror, the “further away” the reflection is. You will never see your whole body in a hand mirror, even if you put it on the moon.

            • @candybrie
              link
              13 hours ago

              The reflection being further is the point? The further away something is, the smaller it looks, so the less of your field of view it takes up, the more you can see of it.

              If I put my hand on my eye, I can’t see much of it. If I pull my hand back, I can see more of it. If I put a mirror on my eye, I can only see my eye. If I put it back, I can see my face because the reflection of my face is further (i.e. smaller).

              I’m very confused what you’re trying to say.

              • Tar_Alcaran
                link
                fedilink
                1
                edit-2
                2 hours ago

                Ok, visualize it like this:

                Draw yourself, with a small mirror at head height, a meter away. Draw your reflection at the same distance from the mirror on the other side.

                Now do that again, but place the mirror 10 times further. Then draw lines from your eye, to the edge of the mirror, and to the reflection.

                You’ll reach the same point on your reflection.

                Edit: or let the BBC do it for you; https://www.bbc.co.uk/bang/images/dallas_mirror_diagram_large.gif