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Concave mirror---------------------
Label the point that your compass went through C (or 2F) and the point
where the line of the principal axis cuts the mirror V.
Place your object point (to scale) on your diagram. Add an arrow going from
the principal axis to that point (pointing towards it!).
Take a ray from the object through 2F (or C) to the mirror. Add two arrow
heads on it in opposite directions.
Take a ray from the object point travelling parallel to the principal axis
and mak it hit the mirror. (Add the arrow). Now make it reflect so that it
passes through F. (Add the arrow)
Take a ray from the object and make it pass through F on its way to the
mirror. (Add the arrow). Make it reflect from the mirror so that it travels
parallel to the principal axis.
If you have drawn your diagram carefully the rays will all cross at one point. That
is your image point. Label it and then draw an arrow going from the principal axis to
that point.
1. Object beyond C
4. Object At F
5. Object At C
Historical Footnote
It has been said that Archimedes used a
large array of mirrors to burn Roman ships during an
attack on Syracuse . This has never been proved or
disproved; however, recently, on a popular Discovery
Channel show, MythBusters, a team tried to recreate the
famous "Archimedes Death Ray". They were successful at
starting a fire on a ship at 75 feet away, however,
previous attempts to light the boat on fire using only the bronze mirrors available
in Archimedes' time were unsuccessful, and the time taken to ignite the craft
would have made its use impractical, resulting in the MythBusters team deciding
that the myth was just a myth!
Click here to download a question sheet
Click here for a Java applet on convex and concave lenses and mirrors!