Here's a goofy question. When I look at myself in the front part of a spoon, why is my reflection upside down?

Gnomon

It's not a goofy question. It's a perfectly valid one, but unfortunately, there is no easy answer. The spoon's surface is concave (curved inwards). Concave mirrors give reflections upside down, and strangely the image in the mirror appears to be in front of the mirror rather than behind it. This can be explained using complicated diagrams showing rays reflecting and converging, but at the end of the day the only simple answer is 'that's just the way it is'. Feb 22 02, 3:19 AM

Jeeves

A difficult question to answer without a diagram. Basically the light rays that strike the top of the curve are reflected downwards and return as the bottom of the image. Similarly the light rays from your face that hit the bottom of the spoon are reflected upwards and return as the top of the image. Have a look in a physics school book and the diagrams should make it clear. Also see Q#54345 and Q#7165: http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question54345.html http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question7165.html Feb 22 02, 3:20 AM