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“An Unknown Path Awaits”

In this photo, we see a phenomenon commonly referred to as the infinity mirror. This is when two parallel mirrors are arranged to create a series of smaller and smaller reflections that appear to the human eye to continue to infinity. You cannot see the person beyond the initial position because the first piece of glass is a one-way mirror, where the side facing the onlooker is just a standard window. In contrast, the other side is a mirror, so this is why the person does not go into infinity like the rest of the image. The main physics around the infinity mirror phenomenon is that light in the area between the two mirrors can bounce back and forth an indefinite number of times. The number of times the light bounces off the two mirrors adds more and more length to the path that the light has to travel before exiting the onlooker's eyes. Therefore the first ray of light may seem close, but as the light reflects more and more, the distance that light has to travel and the perceived distance increases. In the final product, as the image's distance increases, the image's brightness decreases and the image fades into the distance.

Jaret Willis

Description

Essay Title: “An Unknown Path Awaits”
Category: Contrived
Photo Number: 10007
School: Pickerington High School North
Teacher Name: Douglas Forrest

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