We will plunge into Wikipedia, where it is said that a mirror is a smooth surface that is designed to reflect light and any other radiation. The history of this item dates back to the Bronze Age. The bronze polished surfaces found by archaeologists belong to this period and were used by people of the past as mirrors. Thebiggest editors glanced a little in history, and found the largest mirror in the world. Consider mirrors in palaces, telescopic and the largest reflective surface in nature.
The largest mirrors in the world:
1
Rumyantsev Mansion
In one of the gala halls of the mansion, a mirror hangs on the wall, with a total area of 18 m². This building was built in St. Petersburg in the 40s of the XVII century.
The mansion changed its owners several times, and the interior was installed in 1910. Until today, it has not lost its splendor. It was restored in the 90s of the XX century, and manufacturing technologies are no longer used today. Cast a huge mirror, according to historians and mirror craftsmen, at least 3 people.
Women admire such a miracle, and men are interested in the technology of creation and the amazing preservation of the historical artifact. You can see a luxurious mirror by visiting an old mansion. Now it houses a branch of the historical museum of North Palmyra.
2
Versailles Hall of Mirrors
The most famous and luxurious hall of the royal residence in France. The author of the project is Jules Arduin-Mansard, who in 1678 rebuilt the open terrace on the second floor into the Grand Gallery. They began to call it the Mirror Hall in the 19th century.
This was the first place in the world where a person was able to see his reflection in full growth. The gallery is 73 meters long, 10.5 meters wide, and 12.3 meters high. The walls and arches of the hall are decorated with mirrors, and light enters the hall through huge arched windows.
Then they could not create mirrors of large sizes, and arched ceilings and openings in the walls were made up of a large number of small mirrors. When decorating the hall used 337 mirrors. They remember the moment of the proclamation of the German Empire, as well as the moment of signing the 1918 Paris Peace Treaty.
Telescopic mirrors
At first mirrors were widely used in everyday life. Then they found application in optical instruments. Over time, telescopes were invented. They allow you to calculate the distance to space objects, see distant planets and universes.
3
BTA
The "large azimuthal telescope" was installed on Mount Semirodniki in Karachay-Cherkessia. The Russian observatory began to be erected at an altitude of 2,070 m above sea level.
Today it is the largest telescope in diameter of the main reflecting mirror in Eurasia. The diameter of a monolithic mirror created by Soviet scientists and installed in the BTA is 6 meters. The mirror remains the world champion in mass. The decision to create an observatory was made back in 1958. For the first time, scientists looked at the stars with this telescope in 1975. Over the entire history of work, a powerful optical device was modernized several times.
In 2018, a new mirror was installed. After a year of operation, specialists in the measurement of parameters realized that it does not meet the requirements. At the beginning of 2019, a project was adopted to return the old mirror created in the late 50s to the optical device.
By the way, on our site thebiggest.ru there is a fascinating article about the largest telescopes in the world.
4
Vlt
Very Large Telescope, which is easy to translate into Russian, as "Very Large Telescope". This is an optical system of 8 telescopes operating in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The names of telescopes translated into local languages mean the Sun and other objects of the solar system.
According to the total area of the mirrors, it takes the first place on the planet, and the diameter of the main mirror is 8.2 m. Its width is only 177 mm and its weight is 22 tons. Started working in 1998 as part of the European Southern Observatory. In 2005 and 2006, the last two auxiliary telescopes were put into operation.
In 2011, for the first time, they tried to use all 8 telescopes to observe space objects. But the attempt was unsuccessful, and therefore began to use optical in various combinations and separately. The large telescopic complex on Mount Cerro Paranal can operate in three modes.
5
Keck Observatory
The astronomical observatory W. M. Keck Observatory began work in 1993 on the high mountain of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawaii. The diameter of the two main mirrors is 10 meters, and they are composed of 36 segments.
The observatory was named after William Myron Keck, who founded a charity foundation to create observatories in Hawaii with powerful optical instruments. In the early 90s, the philanthropist’s dream came true. To increase the resolution, Kek's optical devices can operate in the mode of an astronomical interferometer. With the help of Kek-1 and Kek-2, many exoplanets were discovered, including the youngest, only emerging LkCa 15 b.
It is believed that this point on the planet is best suited for observing the starry sky. It is on this largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago that the best astroclimate on our beautiful planet.
6
Grand Canary Telescope
Today, Gran Telescopio CANARIAS is the largest operating reflector in which the largest reflecting area mirror is installed. Started functioning in 2007.
GTA is installed on the beautiful island of Palma on top of the majestic volcano Muchachos. Fortunately, the volcano has not been active for a long time, and is considered extinct. They erected it at an altitude of 2,400 meters. The hexagonal mirror itself consists of 36 segments, and its diameter is 10.4 m. The creation of such a mirror was a real breakthrough in science. Schott AG specialists used the latest technology in the design and grinding of reflective surfaces.
The telescope is equipped with adaptive and active optics. With it, you can see a billion times weaker than those that the human eye can see. Infrequently, tours are organized on the telescope so that astronomy lovers can get acquainted with the operation of a powerful optical device.
7
Miracle of nature Lake Uyuni
It turns out that not man, but nature created the largest mirror on the planet. It is called Salar de Uyuni. To see soybeans in it, you need to go to Bolivia and rise to a height of 3,650 m above sea level.
Solonchak formed in the desert mountain plain Altiplano about 40,000 years ago during the drying out of Lake Mincin. The total area of 10,582 km², and in the Guinness Book of Records is listed as the largest mirror in the world. The fact is that in the rainy season, the surface is covered with a layer of water, creating a reflective surface.
A high level of reflection and a large area make it possible to calibrate satellites 5 times better than on the surface of the oceans. Three kilometers from the salt marsh is another attraction of the South American country. This is the famous cemetery of steam locomotives, which was formed by the railway leading from Antofagasta to Bolivia.
Summary
Mirrors are a popular subject in painting. Movie directors use a special way of filming using reflective surfaces when creating films. There are people who believe that these are portals to another world, and in Japan the bronze mirror "Yata-no-Kagami" is the regalia of the Japanese monarch. In Russian fairy tales and myths of other nations, mirrors act as sources of secret information and help the main characters cope with evil.
TheBiggest editorial staff, as always, expects interesting comments from you about the biggest mirrors you have ever seen.
Article author: Valery Skiba