Curved mirror

A curved mirror is a mirror with a curved reflective surface, which may be either convex (bulging outward) or concave (bulging inward). Most curved mirrors have surfaces that are shaped like part of a sphere, but other shapes are sometimes used in optical devices. The most common non-spherical type are parabolic reflectors, found in optical devices such as reflecting telescopes that need to image distant objects, since spherical mirror systems suffer from spherical aberration.

Convex mirror

A convex mirror diagram showing the focus, focal length, centre of curvature, principal axis, etc

A convex mirror, fish eye mirror or diverging mirror, is a curved mirror in which the reflective surface bulges toward the light source. Convex mirrors reflect light outwards, therefore they are not used to focus light. Such mirrors always form a virtual image, since the focus (F) and the centre of curvature (2F) are both imaginary points "inside" the mirror, which cannot be reached. Therefore images formed by these mirrors cannot be taken on screen. (As they are inside the mirror)
A collimated (parallel) beam of light diverges (spreads out) after reflection from a convex mirror, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the mirror.

Uses

Convex mirror lets motorists see around a corner.

The passenger-side mirror on a car is typically a convex mirror. In some countries, these are labeled with the safety warning "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear", to warn the driver of the convex mirror's distorting effects on distance perception. Convex mirrors are preferred in vehicles because they give an upright, though diminished, image. Also they provide a wider field of view as they are curved outwards.
Convex mirrors are used in some automated teller machines as a simple and handy security feature, allowing the users to see what is happening behind them. Similar devices are sold to be attached to ordinary computer monitors.
Some camera phones use convex mirrors to allow the user to correctly aim the camera while taking a self-portrait.

Image

The image is always virtual (rays haven't actually passed through the image,their extensions do), diminished (smaller), and upright . These features make convex mirrors very useful: everything appears smaller in the mirror, so they cover a wider field of view than a normal plane mirror does as the image is "compressed".

Effect on image of object's position relative to mirror focal point (Convex)

Object's position (S), focal point (F)	Image	Diagram
	Virtual Upright Reduced (diminished/smaller)

Concave mirrors

A concave mirror diagram showing the focus, focal length, centre of curvature, principal axis, etc.

A concave mirror, or converging mirror, has a reflecting surface that bulges inward (away from the incident light). Concave mirrors reflect light inward to one focal point, therefore they are used to focus light. Unlike convex mirrors, concave mirrors show different image types depending on the distance between the object and the mirror.
These mirrors are called "converging" because they tend to collect light that falls on them, refocusing parallel incoming rays toward a focus. This is because the light is reflected at different angles, since the normal to the surface differs with each spot on the mirror.

Uses

See also: optical cavity and laser construction

Image

Effect on image of object's position relative to mirror focal point (Concave)

Object's position (S), focal point (F)	Image	Diagram
S < F (Object between focal point and mirror)	Virtual Upright Magnified (larger)
S = F (Object at focal point)	the image is formed at infinity. (Note that the reflected light rays are parallel and do not meet the others. In this way, no image is formed or more properly the image is formed at infinity.)
F < S < 2F (Object between focus and centre of curvature)	Real Inverted (vertically) Magnified (larger)
S = 2F (Object at centre of curvature)	Real Inverted (vertically) Same size Image formed at centre of curvature
S > 2F (Object beyond centre of curvature)	Real Inverted (vertically) Reduced (diminished/smaller)

Mirror shape

Most curved mirrors have a spherical profile. These are the simplest to make, and it is the best shape for general-purpose use. Spherical mirrors, however, suffer from spherical aberration. Parallel rays reflected from such mirrors do not focus to a single point. For parallel rays, such as those coming from a very distant object, a parabolic reflector can do a better job. Such a mirror can focus incoming parallel rays to a much smaller spot than a spherical mirror can.

See also: Toroidal reflector

Analysis

Mirror equation and magnification

The Gaussian mirror equation relates the object distance (d_o) and image distances (d_i) to the focal length (f):

.

The magnification of a mirror is defined as the height of the image divided by the height of the object:

.

The negative sign in this equation is used as a convention. By convention, if the magnification is positive, the image is upright. If the magnification is negative, the image is inverted (upside down).

Ray tracing

Main article: Ray tracing (physics)

The image location and size can also be found by graphical ray tracing, as illustrated in the figures above. A ray drawn from the top of the object to the surface vertex (where the optical axis meets the mirror) will form an angle with that axis. The reflected ray has the same angle to the axis, but is below it (See Specular reflection).
A second ray can be drawn from the top of the object passing through the focal point and reflecting off the mirror at a point somewhere below the optical axis. Such a ray will be reflected from the mirror as a ray parallel to the optical axis. The point at which the two rays described above meet is the image point corresponding to the top of the object. Its distance from the axis defines the height of the image, and its location along the axis is the image location. The mirror equation and magnification equation can be derived geometrically by considering these two rays.

Ray transfer matrix of spherical mirrors

Further information: Ray transfer matrix analysis

The mathematical treatment is done under the paraxial approximation, meaning that under the first approximation a spherical mirror is a parabolic reflector. The ray matrix of a spherical mirror is shown here for the concave reflecting surface of a spherical mirror. The C element of the matrix is , where f is the focal point of the optical device.

Boxes 1 and 3 feature summing the angles of a triangle and comparing to π radians (or 180°). Box 2 shows the Maclaurin series of up to order 1. The derivations of the ray matrices of a convex spherical mirror and a thin lens are very similar.