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Odd Mirror Invented by Mathematician Reflects True Image

by Kathy Jones on Nov 25 2012 6:36 PM

An odd mirror invented by a mathematician shows people their true face without reversing the image.

 Odd Mirror Invented by Mathematician Reflects True Image
An odd mirror invented by a mathematician shows people their true face without reversing the image.
For instance, if you place a piece of print against it, the image would not be reversed, but read exactly as you would any text book or newspaper.

R. Andrew Hicks, professor of math at Drexel University, invented this unusual mirror, which came into the national limelight this summer, after receiving a US patent.

One of those inventions, a driver's side mirror, eliminates the blind spot with minimal distortion.

Other novelty mirrors show a non-reversed image to a viewer by placing two mirrors at right angles, so that looking at the glass shows a simple reflection of the reflection.

Hicks's non-reversing mirror is different, in that it is a single, smooth curved piece of glass that shows a non-reversed image, according to a Drexel statement.

That mirror is now on display as part of an art exhibition in New York City's Room East gallery by artist Robin Cameron, from Dec 9.

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Cameron found inspiration in Hicks's story when she discovered it through online research.

Hicks and Drexel subsequently loaned her the non-reversing mirror for use in her group of artworks entitled "P-R-O-C-E-S-S-E-S".

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"The mirror specifically relates to this particular grouping of work because it is about process. I wanted to know more about what leads someone to make a non-reversing mirror," Cameron said.

Hicks became an inventor of mirrors via a background in hobbyist electronics tinkering, formal education in mathematics and postdoctoral work in computer science, before continuing the work as a professor in Drexel's College of Arts and Sciences.

Source-IANS


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