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The infinity mirror (also sometimes called an infinite mirror) is a configuration of two or more parallel or nearly parallel
mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the ima ...
s, creating a series of smaller and smaller reflections that appear to recede to
infinity Infinity is that which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is often denoted by the infinity symbol . Since the time of the ancient Greeks, the philosophical nature of infinity was the subject of many discussions am ...
. Often the front mirror of an infinity mirror is half-silvered (a so-called one way mirror), but this is not required to produce the effect. A similar appearance in artworks has been called the
Droste effect The Droste effect (), known in art as an example of ''mise en abyme'', is the effect of a picture recursively appearing within itself, in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This produces a loop which in ...
. Infinity mirrors are sometimes used as room accents or in works of art.


Descriptions

In a classic self-contained infinity mirror, a set of light bulbs,
LEDs A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
, or other point-source lights are placed around the periphery of a fully reflective mirror, and a second, partially reflective "
one-way mirror A one-way mirror, also called two-way mirror (or one-way glass, half-silvered mirror, and semi-transparent mirror), is a reciprocal mirror that appears reflective on one side and transparent at the other. The perception of one-way transmission ...
" is placed a short distance in front of it, in a
parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of IB ...
alignment. When an outside observer looks into the surface of the partially reflective mirror, the lights appear to recede into infinity, creating the appearance of a tunnel of great depth that is lined with lights. If the mirrors are not precisely parallel but instead are canted at a slight angle, the "visual tunnel" will be perceived to be curved off to one side, as it recedes into infinity. Alternatively, this effect can also be seen when an observer stands ''between'' two parallel fully reflective mirrors, as in some
dressing room A changing-room, locker-room, (usually in a sports, theater, or staff context) or changeroom (regional use) is a room or area designated for changing one's clothes. Changing-rooms are provided in a semi-public situation to enable people to ch ...
s, some
elevator An elevator or lift is a cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. They are ...
s, or a
house of mirrors A house of mirrors or hall of mirrors is a traditional attraction at funfairs (carnivals) and amusement parks. The basic concept behind a house of mirrors is to be a maze-like puzzle. In addition to the maze, participants are also given mirror ...
. A weaker version of this effect can be seen by standing between any two parallel reflective surfaces, such as the glass walls of a small entry lobby into some buildings. The partially-reflective glass produces this sensation, diluted by the visual noise of the views through the glass into the surrounding environment.


Explanation of effect

The 3D illusion mirror effect is produced whenever there are two parallel reflective surfaces which can bounce a beam of light back and forth an indefinite (theoretically infinite) number of times. The reflections appear to recede into the distance because the light actually is traversing the distance it appears to be traveling. For example, in a two-centimeter-thick infinity mirror, with the light sources halfway between, light from the source initially travels one centimeter. The first reflection travels one centimeter to the rear mirror and then two centimeters to, and through the front mirror, a total of three centimeters. The second reflection travels two centimeters from front mirror to back mirror, and again two centimeters from the back mirror to, and through the front mirror, totaling four centimeters, plus the first reflection (three centimeters) making the second reflection seven centimeters away from the front mirror. Each successive reflection adds four more centimeters to the total (the third reflection appears 11 centimeters deep, fourth 15 centimeters, and so on). Each additional reflection adds length to the path the light must travel before exiting the mirror and reaching the viewer. Each reflection of the light reduces the brightness of the image, which also fades into the distance.


Cultural references

Visual artists, especially contemporary
sculptors Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable s ...
, have made use of infinity mirrors.
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation, and is also active in painting, performance, video art, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her work is based in conceptual art and shows some attribute ...
,
Josiah McElheny Josiah McElheny (1966, Boston) is an artist and sculptor, primarily known for his work with glass blowing and assemblages of glass and mirrored glassed objects (see Glass art). He is a 2006 recipient of the MacArthur Fellows Program. He liv ...
, Ivan Navarro, Taylor Davis, Anthony James, and Guillaume Lachapellehttp://cbc.ca/arts/the-world-of-diorama-artist-guillaume-lachapelle-reels-off-into-infinity-1.3174056 have all produced works that use the infinity mirror to expand the sensation of unlimited space in their artworks. The contemporary classical composer
Arvo Pärt Arvo Pärt (; born 11 September 1935) is an Estonian composer of contemporary classical music. Since the late 1970s, Pärt has worked in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabuli, a compositional technique he invented. Pärt's music is in p ...
wrote his 1978 composition ''
Spiegel im Spiegel ' ( 'mirror(s) in the mirror') is a composition by Arvo Pärt written in 1978, just before his departure from Estonia. The piece is in the '' tintinnabular'' style, wherein a ''melodic voice'', operating over diatonic scales, and ''tintinnabula ...
'' ("mirror in the mirror") as a musical reflection on the infinity mirror effect.


See also

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References


External links

*{{Commons category-inline Mirrors Novelty items Optical illusions
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the ima ...
Optical toys Light art