How Mirrors Reflect Objects Even When There's Space Between Them

A mirror can show you what’s behind it even if something is between you and the mirror, like a toy or a snack!

Imagine your mirror is like a window that only lets light from behind it come through. When you stand in front of it, light bounces off you and goes to the mirror, then it comes back to your eyes so you can see yourself.

Now, if there’s something between you and the mirror, say, a fluffy pillow or a tasty cookie, the light still has to go through that thing before it reaches the mirror. The pillow might squish a little, and the cookie might look crumby, but the light still bounces off you, goes through the pillow or cookie, hits the mirror, and comes back to your eyes. That’s how you can see yourself even with something in between!

But if you cover the whole mirror, like with a big piece of paper or a blanket, then no light can go through it anymore, so you won’t see anything behind that cover! The mirror is still doing its job to show what’s behind it, but if you block all the light from getting through, nothing shows up.