Question

Car mirrors are uncoated on the front surface and silvered on the back surface. When the mirror is properly adjusted, light from behind reflects from the silvered surface into the driver’s eyes. Good. But this is not so good at nighttime with the glare of headlights behind. This problem is solved by the wedge shape of the mirror (see the sketch). When the mirror is tilted slightly upward to the “nighttime” position, glare is directed upward toward the ceiling, away from the driver’s eyes. Yet the driver can still see cars behind in the mirror. Explain.

Answer 1

Two surfaces of the mirror reflect light. The front surface reflects about 4% of incident light, and the silvered surface reflects most of the rest. When the mirror is tilted in the daytime position, the driver sees light reflecting from the silvered surface. In the nighttime position, with the mirror tilted upward, light reflecting from the silvered surface is directed above the driver's view and the driver sees light reflected from the front surface of the mirror. That 4% of rearview light is adequate for night driving.