What colour is a mirror?

Whilst dozing in the sun, for some reason I was thinking about mirror's and what angle they reflect (must have been half dreaming I don't know...). My dad answered the question explaining that the light bounces off at the same angle on the other side of the right angle. Ah yes I thaght. Then we got to the subject of why a mirror is not white and white things are not mirrors. We think it's because white things are bumpy on its surface and mirrors have shiney surfaces. But, if mirrors are not white, what are colour are they?


Any thaughts on this?

Please note these questions have no purpose but I thaught I'd share them

Yes, angle of reflection equals angle of incidence,

By what colour, do you mean other than silver ?

but is silver a colour? and not all mirrors are silver, or even called a mirror and are just shiney things...

Mirrors aren't silver, they're clear. =)

After all, if it wasn't clear you wouldn't be able to see things in it. It's like a window when it's dark outside, you can see a reflection....

=) heh

a mirror is whatever colour/colours it is reflecting.

atleast a theoretical perfect mirror is.

mirrors are shiny

or light green

or really smooth surfaces (ie with no bumps)

I guess it depends on your definition of a mirror

Jem.... are you ok?


Mirrors don't have a colour - the glass is clear(ish) and the backing to it is silver

More grey, then dark.

reality,

:R

Up until 1958, mirrors were made of glass backed with a thin layer of silver. However, in 1958 Frank Evans and John Whipple, working together at AT&T's Bell Labs discovered a new color, hyper-purple.

Items that are hyper-purple are very interesting in that they aren't purple at all. In fact, they are only purple to hyperdogs, for whom this is the only color they can see. Now, for humans, hyper-purple is an odd color because it allows to see directly across hyperspace and into a mirror universe where everything occurs exactly as it does in our universe...except backwards. The British even drive on the right in this alternate universe (I know, shocking, right?)

Thus, all modern mirrors are actually hyper-purple.

You know, that's actually quite convincing.

Amazingly so....

Thank you! *bows*

i was skeptical at "hyper purple", but yeah it was pretty convincing.

That clears that one up then