World Reflections

When light reflects off a material denser (with higher refractive index) than the external medium, it undergoes a polarity inversion. In contrast, a less dense, lower refractive index material will reflect light in phase. This is an important principle in the field of thin-film optics.
Specular reflection forms images. Reflection from a flat surface forms a mirror image, which appears to be reversed from left to right because we compare the image we see to what we would see if we were rotated into the position of the image. Specular reflection at a curved surface forms an image which may be magnified or demagnified; curved mirrors have optical power. Such mirrors may have surfaces that are spherical or parabolic.