what colour is a mirror?
Discussion
The colour it is reflecting isnt the colour of the mirror. As said in the post I refered to in my original question, "If a mirror is reflecting a green wall, that doesnt make the mirror green as its the wall thats green" or something like that.
Thats like in a black cars reflection, you can see the colour of otherthings, yet you can see its black Just because you see the blue sky in a black car, doesnt mean tha car is blue.
Thats like in a black cars reflection, you can see the colour of otherthings, yet you can see its black Just because you see the blue sky in a black car, doesnt mean tha car is blue.
Edited by Deluded on Wednesday 22 July 11:11
To be a conventional mirror I think it would have to be silver in order to reflect as much visible light as possible.
If you look at my profile pic, you can see that a black polished surface will still reflect colours well but wouldn't work as well as silver, as it would absorb more light.
If you look at my profile pic, you can see that a black polished surface will still reflect colours well but wouldn't work as well as silver, as it would absorb more light.
aclivity said:
Doesn't it depend on the chemical make up of the glass? Clear glass made in the UK tends to be green (look at it end on to see the colour). French glass tends to a bit bluey, japanese glass is silver / clear.
Glass in the former USSR is red, and in the Canary Islands its yellow. In Greenland it is definately green. I think.Im fairly sure most mirrors are made from a highly polished aluminium layer bonded to the glass section. The hubble telescope mirror is aluminium. Therefore mirrors are silver. Mirrors aren't the colour of their surroundings are they it's like putting on yellow sunglasses and proffessing everything to be yellow.
In the automobile mirror industry there are three basic types of mirror,
Two metals are primarily used Silver and Chrome.
Silver was used in all the "Old" (classic now) cars, Chrome is now the industry standard.
So you have two base metals, Silver is always second surface coated i.e. on the other side of the glass to the face you can touch. Chrome can either be Second surface or first surface i.e. the one you can touch.
Most cars are now using first surface chrome, so DON'T clean them with anything abrasive of you will ruin the mirror.
You can also get coloured mirror glass these are usually coated using different base metals, again in the car industry "Blue" is uses a titanium base metal.
Most domestic household mirrors still use "Silver" as a base metal.
Two metals are primarily used Silver and Chrome.
Silver was used in all the "Old" (classic now) cars, Chrome is now the industry standard.
So you have two base metals, Silver is always second surface coated i.e. on the other side of the glass to the face you can touch. Chrome can either be Second surface or first surface i.e. the one you can touch.
Most cars are now using first surface chrome, so DON'T clean them with anything abrasive of you will ruin the mirror.
You can also get coloured mirror glass these are usually coated using different base metals, again in the car industry "Blue" is uses a titanium base metal.
Most domestic household mirrors still use "Silver" as a base metal.
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