Every morning when you look in the bathroom mirror, you see yourself — but is that image real? Can you project it onto a wall? In Class 10 Physics (Light), understanding the difference between Virtual and Real images is fundamental.
Virtual images are not 'fake' — your eye perceives them as absolutely real. The word 'virtual' simply means the light rays don't actually converge there — it's the brain that completes the picture!
A Virtual Image is an image formed by a mirror or lens where the reflected/refracted rays do not actually meet at the image point — they only appear to diverge from that point when extended backwards.
| Property | Real Image | Virtual Image |
|---|---|---|
| Ray convergence | Rays actually meet | Rays only appear to meet |
| Can be projected? | Yes | No |
| Orientation | Inverted | Erect |
| Example | Cinema projector | Bathroom mirror |
A concave (diverging) lens **always** forms a virtual, erect, and diminished image, regardless of where the object is placed.
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