Hot mirrors reflect infrared light while allowing visible light to pass through. They are a type of dielectric mirror that can be used to study specific types of light and protect objects from radiation damage. They create heat by bouncing around infrared and ultraviolet light. Warm mirrors are available in neutral colors, while cold mirrors reflect visible light and transmit IR and UV light. Combining the two mirrors can create different results in reflecting and transmitting different wavelengths of light.
Hot mirrors are coated with a special substance that allows them to reflect infrared light while only allowing visible light to pass through. Visible light includes colors that the human eye can see while infrared light and ultraviolet light, IR and UV for short, fall outside the visible spectrum that the human eye can detect. The hot mirror is a type of dielectric mirror. Dielectric mirrors are coated with several thin layers to give them special reflective properties that control which types of light can pass and which are reflected. In the case of the hot mirror, this property allows it to reflect infrared light so that only visible light wavelengths can pass through the mirror.
The reflection of infrared light offers many advantages. Scientists who want to study a particular type of light, created by different wavelengths, can use the hot mirror to separate the infrared wavelengths they want to study. They can also use the mirror on objects that would be damaged by infrared light if it passed through. Fiber optic cable, for example, is beneficial when only visible light can pass because infrared and ultraviolet light can cause radiation damage.
While the name suggests that the mirror reflects heat, that’s not entirely the case. The mirror creates a fair amount of heat and the object it is reflecting off can get hot, but this is because infrared and sometimes ultraviolet light is bounced around creating the heat. A hot mirror is primarily designed to reflect IR wavelengths, but it can also reflect some ultraviolet light depending on the angle and the materials the mirror is made of.
Typically, hot mirrors are coated yellow for best results, but sometimes this can interfere with an experiment. The scientist may need pure white light and to achieve this he needs a warm mirror of a neutral colour. This type is also available, although not as common as the yellow colored mirrors.
The warm mirror is not alone in its light separation function. Another popular dielectric mirror is the cold mirror. Instead of reflecting infrared and ultraviolet light, the cold mirror reflects visible light while transmitting IR and UV light. It is used just like a hot mirror to help separate light to protect an object or to view certain wavelengths. Combining the two mirrors at different angles can create a wide variety of results in reflecting and transmitting different wavelengths of light.
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