What Are Mirrors Made Of?

When was the last time you had spare time to yourself? You probably looked at yourself in the mirror and wondered about life’s many questions.

One of those questions could be what are the mirrors that allow you to see yourself actually made of? They are, after all, a wonderful invention. The ability to see ourselves reflected back is a miracle that people have recorded in literature for centuries.

So what are mirrors made of and how exactly are they made? Let’s dive in.

What Are Most Mirrors Made Of?

Glass mirrors have thin sheets of transparent glass which mirror makers polish and coat in silver or aluminium

Modern mirror makers use electro-silvering or spray thin layers of silver or aluminium on the back of the sheet of glass.

How Are Mirrors Made?

Mirrors use a coating to a glass sheet that has a reflective surface. This basic premise allows us to do amazing things such as see into the deepest and furthest areas of space with the new James Webb telescope.

For most common mirrors, the reflective coating will be applied on the rear face of the glass, as there is a lower chance that damage can occur. To turn a piece of glass into a mirror, the reflecting coating is applied to it on one side.

A mirror is usually made from glass that has either flat or curved surfaces, with a reflective coating. There are a number of ways that the glass is coated with the metal chosen to create a mirror.

Most types of mirrors use a wet deposition technique, coating metal silver on the glass with a silver nitrate solution.

The materials used in making a mirror these days are glass, aluminium and chrome. While glass is usually used as a basic material for mirrors, aluminium and chrome are usually used for making mirrored surfaces reflective. Remember this when looking through a mirror buying guide the next time you buy.

How Do Mirrors Reflect?

Most mirrors are back-silver, meaning a reflecting layer on the back of the glass. It is crucial to have your glass polished to a perfect shine, and any dips or impurities left in your glass will create waves in your mirror, which will distort the image you reflect.

A good bedroom mirror is always protected by the surround, so as not to damage the edges of the glass. Remember, though, that normal silvered glass mirrors cannot be tempered–the glass needs to be tempered prior to the silvering process.

Once prepared, manufacturers covert the glass to a mirror by depositing a thin layer of silver or aluminium. Mirror manufacturing lines: The silvering process takes place in gigantic manufacturing lines, starting with sheets of glass on one end and finished mirrors o the other.

Silver mirrors use a variety of different types of glass, and even the components used to coat reflective surfaces are different. These glass sheets used in glass mirrors have a substance in them called silica. You can extract this from the sand.