Re: Help: rear view mirror optics (fwd)

[Stephen Murray <murray8@LLNL.GOV>]

My understanding is slightly different.  It IS a wedge of glass in
front of a mirror, but doesn't rely on multiple reflections.  By
tilting it one way, you are looking at your rear window reflected
from the mirror.  By tilting it the other way, you are seeing the
light reflected from the front surface of the glass.  Because most of
the light is transmitted into the glass wedge, the image of the
front-surface reflection is dim.  The wedge-shape causes the two
reflections to be seen from different angles.

> I think I know how the mirror works; I THINK it's a glass wedge and by
> controlling the incident angles one can reflect light multiple times
> within the wedge, attenuating it.  I could easily be very wrong.  But I can't
> find a simple explanation of the design on the web anywheres.  Can anyone
> help steer me to an appropriate online explanation?


================================
Stephen D. Murray
Physicist, A Division
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Email:  sdmurray@llnl.gov
Phone: (925) 423-9382
FAX:    (925) 423-0925
================================