Why are objects in the mirror closer than they appear?
In: Physics
Some mirrors are curved distorting the image in the reflection making the appear smaller, hence they look like they are further away, so that you get a better field of view in the mirror. This is often used on car mirrors to reduce the blind spots around the car. Normally a car mirror will only allow the driver to see a small section behind them meaning there is a huge section next to the car where the driver does not have any vision of in their normal driving position. But by curving the side mirror the driver is able to see a much greater section behind and to the side of them allowing them to spot things they would not otherwise have seen. The issue is of course that things appear smaller making it harder to judge distances when backing. Something that might look tiny in the mirror might actually be right behind the car so the driver needs to take extra care when backing up using the mirrors. Some cars might have double mirrors where one is curved and the other is streight allowing the driver to both get a great field of view and judge distances to things behind them.
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