Fullscreen recommended for visibility! (For better detail, go to https://forkphorus.github.io/#168401289.) Click "Animate" to make the "object distance" slider move back and forth from 0 to one of its edges. Terminology: • FP = Focal Point - The point where the rays of reflection meet. Also called the focus. • CC = Center of Curvature - The center of the circle that the mirror would make as if it were a complete circle. The center of curvature is twice as far from the mirror as the focal point. • Focal Length - The distance from the middle of the mirror (where the mirror crosses the optical axis) to the focal point.
After playing with various mirror simulations online, I wanted to make my own. I hope you enjoy the project as much as I did while making it! :) I love looking into curved mirrors, as it fascinates me. The image can become magnified, smaller, or the same size -- the possibilities are endless! Also, the mirror equation is 1/(object distance) + 1/(image distance) = 1/(focal length). Simple, right? If the image is in the bottom right corner, it's either beyond the eye on the optical axis or behind the mirror (over 100 units from the mirror in either case). --- CHANGELOG --- • 6/14/2020: Made the image not become too big so it doesn't take up the whole screen and become frightening to look at. • 6/15/2020: Removed the abbreviations' full forms from the project and added them to the instructions as "terminology." Also shortened the "Object distance" variable so that it aligns better with "Focal length." • 10/4/2020 (project overhaul): - Added the full forms of FP and CC to the given points. Hover over them! - Placed the mirror in the middle to create room for virtual images. Because of this change, the word "Convex" was added to the project's title. However, the title keeps its original "Concave Mirror Simulation" phrase for the sake of search results and nostalgia. - If the image is over 100 units away from the mirror, the project shows where the offscreen image is. The image has also been relocated to the bottom right corner in that case. - Spelled out "FL" as "focal length" for the "Object Location" variable (there was enough room for the full form). - Removed the hyphens surrounding the variable names "Focal length" and "Object distance" for easier rearranging of other variables (i.e., "Object" and "Object Location"). - Set the default focal length to 40 and default object distance to 10 for a better first impression. - Set the minimum focal length to 1 instead of 0. - Moved the object and image to the front of the FP and CC points. - Finally added a way to experiment with a convex mirror! Just move the "object distance" slider to the left to see it in action. • 10/5/2020: - The mirror is now drawn a lot more accurately, also allowing it to scale better with the focal length. - Put the hyphens back around the "Object distance" variable for precision in normal viewing mode. - Placed the "Slider" sprite in the correct category of options ("object" instead of "image"). - Rearranged the "image" variables to make them easier to read. • 10/6/2020: Connected the "Slider" button to the "Object distance" variable for better understanding of the button's purpose. • 3/18/2021: Added two new objects: an arrow and a human. Also, this project has reached 1,000 views! Thank you all so much for your support! :) • 3/1/2022: Converted all bitmap (pixelated) sprites to vector so they look smoother. • 3/4/2022: Added ray diagrams! This allows you to see how light bounces off the mirror to form an image. • 3/7/2022: Fixed the bug where the light ray that bounces off the middle of the mirror doesn't reverse direction after reaching the bottom of the screen. • 8/27/2023: Made it so that the ray diagrams are always drawn instead of having to click the "Trace Light Rays" button (which was removed as a result). • 8/25/2024: Added a button to toggle the light rays (off by default) and fixed a bug where it becomes held when clicking and dragging from outside its region to inside. Also made the "Image Location" variable say "Between the FP and CC" (removed "the" before "CC") when the object is outside the CC. • 12/17/2024: The "Slider" button now says "Animate" (and "Stop" when animating). #simulation #mirror #concave #convex #educational #physics #science #optics
