{"id":4168,"date":"2018-08-31T16:07:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T23:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/?p=4168"},"modified":"2023-08-05T12:10:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T12:10:44","slug":"the-concave-mirror-equation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/the-concave-mirror-equation.htm","title":{"rendered":"The concave mirror equation","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p align=\"justify\">Article about The concave mirror equation<\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Before deriving the equation of the concave mirror, first read some sign rules for the concave mirror below.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b>The sign rules for the concave mirror<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>Object distance (do)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the object is in the front of the mirror surface which reflects light, the object distance (do) is positive.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>Image distance (di)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the image is in the front of the mirror surface which reflecting light, where light passes through the image, then the image distance (di) is positive (real image). If the image is behind the mirror surface which reflecting light, where light does not pass through the image, then the image distance is negative (virtual image).<\/span><\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>The radius of curvature (R)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The center of the curvature of the concave mirror is in the front of the mirror surface, which reflects light. Therefore, the radius of curvature of the concave mirror is positive. The radius of curvature is positive, so the focal length (f) is also positive.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>Object height (h)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the object is above the principal axis of the concave mirror, the height of the object (h) is positive (object is upright). Conversely, if the object is below the principal axis of the concave mirror, the height of the object is negative (object is inverted).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>Image height (h\u2019)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the image is above the principal axis of the concave mirror, the image height (h &#8216;) is positive (image is upright). If the image is below the principal axis of the concave mirror, the image height is negative (image is inverted).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">&#8211; <u>Magnification of image (m)<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">If the magnification of image &gt; 1 then the size of the image is greater than the size of the object. If the magnification of the image = 1, the size of the image is the same as the size of the object. If the magnification of the image is &lt; 1, the image size is smaller than the object size.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b>The equation of concave mirror<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">On the figure below, two beams of light are drawn to the concave mirror, and the concave mirror reflects the beam of light.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4169\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-1-300x157.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 1\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-1-300x157.png 300w, https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-1.png 318w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">s = do = object distance, s\u2019 = di = image distance, h = P P\u2019 = object height, h\u2019 = Q Q\u2019 = image height, F = the focal point of the concave mirror.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The figure above shows two rays, P&#8217;BFQ &#8216;and P&#8217;AQ&#8217;. The P\u2019AQ ray fulfills the law of reflection of light. Hence, the P\u2019AP triangle is similar to Q\u2019AQ. Therefore :<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4178\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-2.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 2\" width=\"174\" height=\"43\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">On the P\u2019BFQ \u2019 ray, the BFA triangle is similar to QFQ\u2019 where the distance of AB = object height (h) and the distance of FA = the focal length (f) of the concave mirror. Therefore :<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4170\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-3.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 3\" width=\"188\" height=\"81\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The left and right of the equations 1 and 2 are the same, so the right equation is equalized:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4171\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-4.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 4\" width=\"96\" height=\"125\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Multiply the two equations by the image distance (di):<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4172\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-5-129x300.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 5\" width=\"129\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-5-129x300.png 129w, https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-5.png 140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 129px) 100vw, 129px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">do = the object distance (positive if the object is in the front of the surface of the concave mirror that reflects light)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">di = the image distance (positive if the image in the front of the surface of the concave mirror that reflects light. Image is real)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">f = focal length (positive because the focal point of the concave mirror is located in the front of the surface of the concave mirror that reflects light)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Always remember the sign rules of the concave mirror when using this equation to solve the problems of the concave mirror<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><b>Magnification of image (m)<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">Observe the figure of the image formation above. Similar to the PAP &#8216;and QAQ&#8217; triangles, we can reduce the relationship between the object distance and the image distance to the object height and the image height:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4173\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-6.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 6\" width=\"99\" height=\"43\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">h = object height (positive if the object is above the principal axis of the concave mirror. The object is upright. Negative if the object is inverted)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">h&#8217; = image height (positive if the image is above the principal axis of the concave mirror. The image is upright. Negative when the image is inverted)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">do = object distance (positive if the light beam pass through the object)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">di = image distance (positive if the light beam passes through the image. The image is real. Negative if the light beam passes through the image. The image is virtual).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">The equation above can be written again as below by adding the symbol of m:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"justify\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-4174\" src=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Equation-of-concave-mirror-7.png\" alt=\"Equation of concave mirror 7\" width=\"109\" height=\"43\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"western\" align=\"justify\"><span style=\"font-family: Times new roman, serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\">m = the magnification of the image<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Article about The concave mirror equation Before deriving the equation of the concave mirror, first read some sign rules for the concave mirror below. The sign rules for the concave mirror &#8211; Object distance (do) If the object is in the front of the mirror surface which reflects light, the object distance (do) is positive. &#8230; <a title=\"The concave mirror equation\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/the-concave-mirror-equation.htm\" aria-label=\"Read more about The concave mirror equation\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"The concave mirror equation","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-basic-physics-tutorials"],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4168"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8466,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4168\/revisions\/8466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gurumuda.net\/physics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}