First Surface Mirror:
Normally we use back surface mirrors. These are considered low precision mirrors because they actually have two reflecting surfaces. The first reflecting surface is the initial surface on the pane of glass where a small percentage of light is reflected off the surface. The second reflecting surface is the aluminium coating where a high percentage of light is reflected off the surface.

This dual reflection effect of a low precision mirror causes a loss of contrast and image distortion that is undesirable in high precision applications like rear projection systems, scanners and reflecting telescopes. In these cases good image quality is highly preferred, and this is where a front surface mirror is desired for clarity and single image reflection. First surface mirrors are quite common in professional optics. However, compared with back surface mirrors, they have the important disadvantage of being substantially more sensitive. The front surface may be touched, and a metal coating on the front surface is substantially more sensitive than a bare glass surface. For example, fingerprints can easily cause oxidation of the metal. Also, moisture or aggressive gases may cause oxidation of the mirror coating.
Precision of back surface mirrors is:

Options

A. high.
B. low.
C. depends on intensity of light.
D. similar to first surface mirror.

Answer

B

Explanation

Normally, we use back surface mirrors. These are considered low precision mirrors because they actually have two reflecting surfaces.