How do mirrors work and why do they reverse images horizontally?

Mirrors take what you do and show it back to you, just like a friend who copies your moves in a game.

Imagine you're facing a mirror, and you raise your right hand. The mirror shows you raising your left hand instead. That’s why it seems like the mirror flips things horizontally, from left to right.

Think of a mirror as a super-smart wall that can copy everything you do. When light comes from you, it bounces off you and then hits the mirror. The mirror catches the light and sends it back, just like when you throw a ball at a wall, and it comes back to you.

So if you smile, the mirror smiles too. If you wave your hand, the mirror waves its hand, but from the opposite side.

Now picture yourself standing in front of a mirror, holding up a sign that says "Hello". The mirror shows "Hello" back to you, but if you look closely, it’s like someone wrote it backwards on a piece of paper and then held it up to the light.

That's because mirrors don’t flip things vertically (up and down), just horizontally, from left to right. It’s as if the mirror is copying your actions, but in reverse! Mirrors take what you do and show it back to you, just like a friend who copies your moves in a game.

Imagine you're facing a mirror, and you raise your right hand. The mirror shows you raising your left hand instead. That’s why it seems like the mirror flips things horizontally, from left to right.