Physics Demo Number: 086 |
Approximate Run Time: 5 min |
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Pink Pig With Two Concave Mirrors To Form a Three Dimensional Real Image |
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Demo DescriptionAn object placed inside two concave mirrors pressed together appears to "float above" the mirrors as a 3 dimensional object. |
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Scientific Principles
Concave mirrors |
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Equipment
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1
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Equipment Location
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2
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3
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InstructionsThe mirrors are new (purchased in Summer 2015)- please treat them with care!!! Photo 1 shows the Pink Pig apparatus and the box it comes in. (Note that the term Mirage on the box and claims of holograms being involved are both bogus.) The camera does not show the real pig from the angle taken in this photo. The observer must be close and at the correct viewing angle, so don't expect students to see this effect from their seats. (Thus much more than 5 minutes may be required to show this item to a large class.) Photo 2 shows the 3 dimensional image of Ms Piggy up close and personal, again from a camera angle that cannot see the physical Piggy. Photo 3 (taken with the old mirrors) captures the real Piggy inside the curved mirrors along with a distorted view of the real image. In essence, the focal point of the bottom mirror is at the apex of the top mirror (which is in thin air since that part of the the top mirror's structure had to be removed to form the opening in the top mirror). Moreover the focal point of the top mirror is at the bottom of the bottom mirror. Hence rays leaving the physical Piggy are rendered parallel by the top mirror and the resulting parallel beam returned to the bottom mirror, which then recombines them into an image around its focal point. |
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Writeup created by David A. BurbaCopyright © 2011, Vanderbilt University. All Rights Reserved. |
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