Question

A. Suppose that you are standing outside on a dark night on a large, perfectly smooth mirrored parking lot. If you shine your bright flashlight onto the mirror's surface 20 feet ahead of you, do you expect to be able to see that the area is lit so that you can see it? Explain (a diagram may be a useful part of your explanation). B. Now suppose that instead the parking lot has just an ordinary asphalt surface (it is still extraordinarily dark outside). If you shine your flashlight onto the asphalt surface 20 feet ahead of you, do you expect to be able to see that the area is lit? Explain (a diagram may be a useful part of your explanation).

Answer 1

The plane mirror will make an image of the source of light and will act as a secondary virtual source for the other mirrors and thus the area will be lit due to the presence of so many light sources from one primary source as your flashlight