"jim rozen" wrote in message
...
In article , Martin H. Eastburn
says...

I agree mirrors are sputtered Aluminum or sheet silver or my gaudy sheet
gold
:-)
The glass is typically, not always by any means a safety glass with an
index of
refraction
and absorbs producing defects.


The best mirrors are so-called "first surface" mirrors, where there is
no glass between the incoming and outgoing waves. The metal is on
the *front* of the glass.

A close inspection of the average bathroom mirror shows *two* images - one
from the indident wave being reflected off the interface between the
glass and the air, and the stronger one from the metal to the glass
interface.
Very annoying.

After accidentally smashing my truck side-view mirror, I found that it
was indeed first surface - and the one the glass folks tried to install
was not. The replacment performed poorly.

Jim

really? front surface mirror scratches REALLY easily. even handling it
gently when i make kalidiscopes and attempting to clean it leaves scratches.
was there any protection on the front of it to protect the metal surface?

regards,
charlie
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts