Curved Mirror

Curved Mirror

  1. A curve is part of a circle. Therefore
    1. the centre of the circle will also be the centre of the curve and is called the centre of curvature, and
    2. the radius of the circle will be equal to the radius of the curve, called the curvature radius.

Important Terms

All rays parallel to the principle axis will focus at F

Centre of curvature, CThe geometric centre of a hollow sphere of which the concave or convex mirror is a part.
Pole of mirror, PThe centre point on the curved mirror.
Principal axisA line which passes through the centre of curvature, C and the pole of a curved mirror, P.
Radius of curvature, rDistance between the pole, P and the centre of curvature, C.
Principal focus, FA point through which all rays travelling parallel to the principal axis converge to or appear to diverge from after reflection by the mirror.
Focal length, fThe distance between the principal focus, F and the pole of the
curved mirror, P.
Aperture of mirrorThe portion of the surface of the mirror that reflects light.
Object distance, uDistance of object from the pole of the mirror, P.
Image distance, vDistance of image from the pole of the mirror,