Correction: I erroneously attributed the post I quoted to Gene. Sorry about that. —Dan
On Jun 12, 2015, at 4:30 PM, Dan Asimov <asimov@msri.org> wrote:
Interesting — I never knew how "one-way mirrors" worked, just assumed it was some cheap trick.
Many times finding myself unkempt on a sidewalk I've combed my hair in the window of a darkened shop, which works very well as a mirror.
At times when I've been able to sidle up to the "opaque" side of a one-way mirror, it's clear when you're close enough (you can see through it).
—Dan
Eugene Salamin via math-fun <math-fun@mailman.xmission.com <mailto:math-fun@mailman.xmission.com>> wrote:
"One way mirrors" seen in police interview rooms on TV, aren't really. Light goes both ways through them, it is just that there is a lot less light coming from one side, since it is a dark place. The other side is brightly lit; and then if you partially-silver the window the scattering and partial reflection tends to overwhelm the transmission from the dark side, making it *appear* to be a mirror from the bright side.