Photography & Digital Art,Funny,CuriositiesJAN 19, 2022

50 Times Reflections Were So Confusing, They Messed With These People's Heads (New Pics)

Akvile Petraityte 🇺🇦, Liucija Adomaite and Kotryna Br

307

What you see in the mirror is your reflection with which you’re most likely very familiar. So there’s little surprise there. But there are many other things that bounce back at you, or off of surfaces—think of light waves, sound waves, even your thoughts.

In fact, the word “reflection” derives from the Latin reflectere, made up of the prefix re-, "back," and flectere, "to bend." So in very simple terms, it’s bending something back, sometimes accurately (if it’s a smooth surface like a mirror) and sometimes very distortedly (if it’s a water pond).

So today we’re taking you on an adventure into the wondrous world of reflections, both random and elaborate, funny and breathtaking. Scroll down through the list compiled by Bored Panda below, upvote your favorite mind (or rather, light) benders and be sure to check out our previous post with more head-messing reflections here.

#1 This Mural Was Purposely Painted Upside Down To Reflect Off Of The Water

Baker359

Report

770points

#2 Reflection Of Trees In A Drop Of Water

GreenCricket

Report

654points

#3 Long Exposure Photograph I Captured Of Yesterday’s Spacex Launch And Its Reflection Along The Shoreline Of The Atlantic Ocean

johnkphotos

Report

651points

To find out more about the wondrous world of reflections, we spoke with Steven Wooding, a physicist and a member of The Institute Of Physics, UK. Steven is also a member of the Omni Calculator Project which is an international community of scientists and researchers with a goal to make science more accessible and entertaining for everyone.

First, we wanted to know how exactly reflections work and Steven was happy to explain: “Every object you see reflects light from a light source into your eyes. Most of the time, the light is scattered in all directions, and the object has a matte look. If the object's surface is smooth enough, it will reflect light all in the same direction into your eye and form an image.”

“For example, you can't see the sky's reflection on a rough sea, but if it's calm enough, you get an image formed of the sky in the water,” the physicist added.

#4 The Reflections On These Pots Lined Up Just Right

Pinyaka

Report

580points

#5 Every Morning The Sun Hits My Mom's Urn And Reflects On The Wall In This Pretty Design

Wutufuh

Report

562points

#6 This Reflection Of A Lamp On My Sunglasses

CowInTrouble

Report

536points

When asked if humans can manipulate the reflections, Steven said that they indeed can. “Magicians can play many tricks using reflections when we don't expect them. For example, a ghost can be made to appear on stage, but actually, it's a pane of glass partially reflecting an actor in a concealed part of the stage.” Moreover, “technologies such as radar and lidar send light towards an object and collect the reflections to determine where they are, how fast they are going, and even their three-dimensional shape.”

It turns out that the smoother the surface, the better the reflection will be. “Any imperfections on the surface will be echoed in the reflected image. With surfaces like water that can move, these flaws can change over time and give pleasing effects. The color of the reflecting surface is also important and acts like applying a filter to the image.”