In good old days, all wrapping paper used to be made of paper. Nowadays, you can get wrapping material that is made of very thin plastic. Some of this plastic material has a reflective silver covering. Perhaps you’ve received a birthday gift wrapped in this reflective material? If so, what did you do with the mirrored fabric after you had ripped it off your present? Hopefully, you kept it around for this next experiment.
Things Required:
Silver-coated wrapping material
Glue stick
Index card
Pair of scissors
Directions:
Cut out a card-sized rectangle of silver-coated wrapping material. Use a glue stick to coat an index card with a thin and uniform layer of adhesive. Place the silver rectangle in the centre of the card. Gently press it from the centre of the card. Try to squeeze out any bubbles or regions where the material forms a bump or fold. Let dry.
Examine the silver-coated card. Can you see your reflection in the card? Does this material make a good mirror?
While looking at your reflection, bend the card. Make the card into a convex mirror by making the centre bend towards you. Make the bend up and down. Make the bend sideways. What happens to the distortion as you change the angle of this bend?
Now bend the card into a concave mirror. Can you locate the viewing distance where your image flips upside down?
This Is What Happens:
A good mirror has a reflective surface, that’s, both silver-coated and extremely flat. Glass that is coated with silver paint makes a great mirror. The wrapping paper, however, wasn’t so perfect. Although the material was coated in silver yet it wasn’t very flat. Slight bumps in its surface produced major distortions that spoiled its reflecting possibilities.
