All mysteries
Mystery #4Tier 2physics / light

How do periscopes and kaleidoscopes work?

A periscope lets you peek over a wall or around a corner without being seen. A kaleidoscope turns a few coloured beads into a dazzling, endless flower of patterns. Both are just tubes with a couple of mirrors inside, so how do two mirrors do something so magical?

The colourful, symmetrical pattern of beads seen through a kaleidoscope, repeated again and again by its mirrors.
Photo: Albarubescens, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What's your hunch about how a couple of mirrors let you see around corners or make endless patterns?

There's no single magic word to type, have a go in your own words, then reveal the answer to see how close you got.

Make a guess to unlock the hints and the answer.