2001
DOI: 10.1088/0031-9120/36/2/302
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Abstract: We examine the structure of five Chinese magic mirror replicas using a special imaging technique developed by the authors. All mirrors are found to have a two-layered structure. The reflecting surface that gives rise to a projected magic pattern on the screen is hidden under a polished half-reflecting top layer. An alternative method of making the magic mirror using ancient technology has been proposed. Finally, we suggest a simple method of reconstructing a mirror replica in the laboratory.

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Cited by 16 publications
(9 citation statements)
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“…Second, whatever the result, the mechanism should be investigated by which the process of manufacture reproduces onto the reflecting surface the pattern on the back. (11); this is the sign supported by observation. (b) As (a), but with a < 0, suggested by the stress-release theory but not by observation.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 75%
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“…Second, whatever the result, the mechanism should be investigated by which the process of manufacture reproduces onto the reflecting surface the pattern on the back. (11); this is the sign supported by observation. (b) As (a), but with a < 0, suggested by the stress-release theory but not by observation.…”
Section: Discussionsupporting
confidence: 75%
“…The theory based on the Laplacian image accords well with observation, at least for the mirror studied here. The key insight is that the image of a step is neither a dark line nor a bright line, as sometimes reported [11], but is bright on one side and dark on the other. It is possible that there are different types of magic mirror, where for example the relief is etched directly onto the reflecting surface and protected by a transparent film [11], but these do not seem to be common.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 76%
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“…Perhaps the earliest example of PCI being put into practice involves the art and demonstration of so-called 'magic mirrors' [5][6][7] that date back to at least the fifth century CE in China and apparently even earlier to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-24 CE) [7,8], and, the performance of which remained steeped in mystery until the twentieth century. The basic feature of these magic mirrors lay in the fact that a cast or embossed design on the back surface of these bronze mirrors became visible when the highly polished and smooth convex front surface of the mirror was illuminated by direct sunlight and the reflected beam from the front surface of the mirror projected on to a wall.…”
Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Already 2000 years ago reflectors projecting images, called Chinese magic mirrors, have been hand-crafted of bronze in China and Japan, but the recipe has been lost and reconstructed several times over the ages; see [7] and [46]. Today such free-form optics are important in illumination applications.…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%