Mirrors are very useful in our day to day. They are beneficial when it comes to safety. In vehicles, they allow drivers to see what is approaching behind them. They will help you see traffic around obstructions and in your garage to see how much space you have in front of and to the side of your vehicle. To have a wider field of view, convex mirrors are used instead of flat ones. Convex mirrors are generally seen on large trucks to minimize the blind spot. They are also integrated into security systems so that video cameras can show more than one angle at a time.
Dentists use mouth mirrors or dental mirrors to allow indirect vision and illumination inside the mouth. Not only do dentists use the mouth mirror, engineers also use it to allow vision in tight spaces and around corners of equipment.
Mirrors can also be used to mark variations in their orientation with the sun as the light source. This technique is used over long distances and was pioneered by Native American tribes and military to transmit information between remote outposts. Military survival kits even include a mirror. It is used for rescue as it attracts the attention of search and rescue helicopters.
Large HDTV and video projectors use microscopic mirrors as the central element. Millions of microscopic mirrors are placed on the surface of a microchip. Large mirrors are used in rear projection televisions. The light is folded by one or more mirrors to make the television compact.
Precision instruments and telescopes use silver top or front mirrors. The reflective surface is first placed on the front surface of the glass. Aluminum is the most widely used. Silver front mirrors need to be renewed from time to time to maintain their quality. Dialectric mirrors are used in scientific optics work. These are glass substrates on which dielectric materials are deposited to form an optical coating.