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First surface mirror |
First surface mirror is a mirror where the reflective silvering is placed on the front of the glass, rather than behind the glass. Images reflected in a first surface mirror are clearer, brighter and less diffuse than reflections in a conventional mirror. First surface mirror is also called front surface mirror. First surface mirror is ideal for use in kaleidoscopes. Clarity Glass Design uses high quality scientific grade first surface mirror in kaleidoscope kits.
With ordinary mirror light passes through a layer of glass before reflecting off the back of the mirror. Since glass is not perfectly clear this dims the image. The image is also blurred by images reflecting off the front of the glass. Inexpensive kaleidoscopes use ordinary mirror, plastic mirror, or polished metal instead of a first surface mirror so images can be blurred. The use of Aluminized First Surface Mirror solves these problems. First surface mirror is made by vacuum depositing a highly reflective aluminum coating onto the front surface of the glass. Consequently the light reflects off the aluminized surface without passing through a distorted layer of glass. Because of its high reflectivity, first surface mirror is always used in cameras, telescopes, microscopes, and other precision optical instruments. First surface mirror creates a brilliant kaleidoscope images that remains clear and bright throughout the viewing field. The patterns and colors are much sharper and more intense inside the kaleidoscope than would be possible using ordinary mirror. That is why we provide three pre-cut pieces of aluminized first surface mirror in every Clarity Glass Design kaleidoscope kit.
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