Timeline for Plausible explanation for lack of reflection in a mirror
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
6 events
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| Apr 13, 2016 at 12:08 | comment | added | TOOGAM | Tim B: the "black shadow" isn't necessarily a problem. Let there be a black shadow; if the vampire doesn't look right/normal, that property would explain why people thought vampires cannot be normally seen. This got simplified over the years, as mythology got created, to people hearing the stories and thinking the mirrors showed nothing. Reality is a bit different. @dsollen : You mention an issue of "explaining why light coming off of vampires" has a special property. This might be easier if the light isn't reflecting off the vampire, but if the vampires are radiant (producing the light) | |
| Jan 3, 2015 at 16:42 | comment | added | David Richerby | @dsollen Reflection can certainly impart polarization: polarizing sunglasses cut glare precisely because light reflecting off certain surfaces is polarized. So one possibility would be to make up a new kind of polarization and claim that (1) some property of the vampire's skin (and, I guess, the fabric of their clothing) imparts this polarization when light bounces off it and (2) mirrors don't reflect light with this polarization property. | |
| Jan 3, 2015 at 1:45 | history | edited | Tim B | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 103 characters in body
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| Jan 3, 2015 at 1:45 | comment | added | Tim B | @dsollen Yes, that's what I had in mind, I'll clarify. | |
| Dec 31, 2014 at 14:21 | comment | added | dsollen | The hard part about the polarization approach is explaining why light coming off of vampires is polarized in a particular way to begin with. Though I suppose you could always claim it's the side effect of how their magic/glamor works. | |
| Dec 31, 2014 at 12:42 | history | answered | Tim B | CC BY-SA 3.0 |