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What is a two-way mirror?

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Perhaps you’ve received the e-mail. “Department stores use two-way mirrors in their dressing rooms, so watch out!” More likely, you’ve seen a television show in which one detective interrogates a suspect in a room with a mirror, while another detective watches from another room in which that same mirror acts a window.

Both scenes describe a two-way mirror—a piece of glass that acts as a mirror if you look at it from one side and a window if you look at it from the other. You either see your reflection, or you see right through it. The possible surveillance applications are infinite; you can watch someone without their knowing it.

Transparent mirrors, one-way glass, observation mirrors—they are all just different names for the same product. It is especially confusing when these two-way mirrors are called one-way mirrors. True one-way mirrors, however, are actually regular mirrors; the light is only reflected “one way.” With a two-way mirror, on the other hand, light is both reflected and travels through the glass. In reality, this process isn’t much different from a tinted window; if your windows are tinted, you can see out, but outsiders may see their own reflection.

Like all mirrors, two-way mirrors are made of either acrylic or glass. Acrylic mirrors (which are the current trend) will not shatter and they are not sharp like glass, but they do scratch more easily. You can have a mirror cut to any size and have it delivered and installed framed or unframed. Whatever style you can have for a regular mirror, you can have for a two-way mirror.

Two-way mirrors are not uncommon, so shop around at stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. On the Internet, http://www.twowaymirrors.net is one of the leading sellers. This company’s mirrors range from four dollars for a 4”x4” to ninety dollars (18”x24”) to eight hundred dollars (48”x96”). The prices also go up if you purchase a doubly thick mirror.

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