Why does car window tinting only work one way, and maybe similarly, how do one-way mirrors work?

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Why does car window tinting only work one way, and maybe similarly, how do one-way mirrors work?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Both tinting and mirroring work both ways. The only difference is that if there is a significant difference in illumination in one side against the other the transmitted image intensity outweighs the reflected or vice versa.

If you are outside on a sunny day, it’s very hard to see into an unlit room through an ordinary glass window, but it’s crazy to see out. At night with the room lights on you can see in but people I side don’t see much out of the window.

In a car with tinted windows, the illumination inside is usually light coming in from outside through the tint. So things inside are not strongly illuminated and are dimmer than reflections in the windows of things outside.