Question

When a lighted candle is held in front of a thick plane glass mirror, several images can be seen, but the second image is the brightest, give reason.

Answer 1

When a ray of light from lighted candle fall on the surface of a thick plane glass mirror, a small part of light (nearly 4%) is reflected forming first image which is faint virtual image, while a large part of light (nearly 96%) is refracted inside the glass. This ray is now strongly reflected back by the silvered surface inside the glass. This ray is then partially refracted in air and this refracted ray forms another virtual image. This image is the brightest image because it is due to the light suffering a strong reflection at the silver surface.