The levitating Buddha: Constructing a realistic cylindrical mirror pseudo image

Abstract

ABSTRACT There are several interesting experiments involving image formation that can be easily implemented using mirrored foil, a very inexpensive material. When the foil is somewhat bent by holding its opposite edges and slightly pulling them together, cylindrical surfaces are generated. They behave as cylindrical mirrors, and circular or elliptical cross sections can be made. A project that can be easily built with the mirror foil is the generation of a pseudo image that is so compelling in its apparent reality that it can easily be taken to be the object itself.