An Explanation for Why Mirrors Appear to Flip Images Horizontally But Not Vertically

Dianna “The Physics Girl” Cowern (previously) returns to explain why images in mirrors appear to be flipped horizontally but not vertically. The answer, it turns out, is pretty simple.

Why do mirrors appear to flip things horizontally? Because you flipped them horizontally, so the mirror is just showing you what you presented to it.

Brian Heater
Brian Heater