Question

Can a plane mirror be called a spherical mirror?

Answer 1

Hint : In this question, we use properties of the plane mirror and spherical mirror to compare them to find out can a plane mirror be called a spherical mirror.

Complete step by step answer: The plane mirror is a special category of a spherical mirror with a flat reflective surface. For light rays striking a plane mirror, the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. The angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the surface normal (an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface).
These properties of plane mirrors reveal that its properties resemble the properties of a spherical mirror. The spherical mirrors that include concave and convex mirrors also inherit the laws of reflection. The difference between the spherical mirror and the plan mirror is just about their shape.


The spherical mirrors are created from the arc of the sphere and it is polished on one side as you can see in the figure. But the plane mirror is a linear and unbending mirror that is polished to one side as you can see in the figure. This difference in the shape of the mirror also leads to a change in the radius of curvature as well as the center of curvature of the mirrors.

The value of the radius of curvature and center of curvature is infinite for a plane mirror but the spherical mirror has some constant values in integers excluding 0.these were the noticeable difference between a plan mirror and a spherical mirror.
We can conclude that a plane mirror is a type of spherical mirror with a flat surface. So a plane mirror is called a spherical mirror.
Note: In this question, we have to study different types of mirrors then properties and how a concave and convex mirror is different from a plane mirror. What type of polish is used in the mirror, Different between the spherical mirror and plane mirror is the shape of the mirror and other properties are the same as a spherical mirror. So we can easily conclude that the plane mirror is called a spherical mirror.