Mirrors: Why does my bathroom mirror flip me horizontally but not vertically?

Question

vincent-lyon.fr · Answer

It flips you front/back and nothing else.

anonymous · Answer

But see, the writing on my T-shirt goes back-to-front, but I don't go upside down? :)

ujjwal · Answer

Because it is a plane mirror.it is a property of plane mirror. see the first diagram in this link. http://www.tutorvista.com/content/physics/physics-ii/light-reflection/plane-mirror.php

anonymous · Answer

Do coffee tables count as plane mirrors? Because there, when I look at somebody opposite me, they do become upside down, and don't become back-to-front!

anonymous · Answer

Consider the paths of the light rays.

anonymous · Answer

I can do that, it's just I can't understand what's fundamentally different between up/down and left/right, or how the coffee table is different from the bathroom mirror.

anonymous · Answer

The paths of reflection
i.e. in the vertical mirror, the light rays are reflected back along the same path, in the horizontal mirror (coffee table), the light rays are reflected at an angle to get to your eyes.

anonymous · Answer

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Yeah?