eli5: What is the difference between a mirror and a white object?

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I mean, what does a white object do? Absorbs nothing, reflects all light back.

What does a mirror do? Absorbs nothing, reflects all light back.

Having the same characteristics, how does a mirror reflect an image and a white object, a white texture?

In: Physics

18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

In a fun-house mirror, you see light from several angles because the reflection is distorted.

White objects are microscopically wrinkly and rough mirrors.

So for every point on the surface, you see the average of the light from all angles.

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