Mirrors are an important tool when investigating and demonstrating the behaviour of light beams. From the seventeenth century onwards, mirrors were also an important part of the optical system of telescopes and microscopes. As opposed to a glass lens, which refracts the different colours of light differently, a mirror reflects all colours in the same way. Thus, a mirror supplies a more clear and natural image. Furthermore, a mirror was often added to microscopes to illuminate the preparation that was being studied. The rectangular, plane mirror shown here, is adjustable. The circular mirror consists of two silvered glass mirrors.
Two-faced, silvered glass convex mirror and an adjustable plane mirror
1850 - 1874