Question

When a parallel beam of paraxial light strikes a convex spherical mirror, the reflected rays:

Options

• remain exactly parallel after reflection

• appear to diverge from a single point

• converge to a single point

• converge at the centre of curvature

Answer 1

For a convex mirror, the reflected rays do not actually meet; they appear to diverge from a single point behind the mirror — the Principal Focus. This behaviour is the opposite of the converging action of a concave mirror.