# Anyone notice reflections on the hood of their cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 19, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987 "2003-06-19T19:17:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/1 "2003-06-19T19:17:02Z")
Okay, here’s the deal: As I’m driving down the highway, I can see the hood of my car. Since it is buffed to such a beautiful sheen, I can see reflections in the hood as I’m driving. It’s these reflections I can’t figure out. I can see a reflection of the stripes and other markings on the road. How can an image of the road passing in front of and under my car end up appearing on the hood on top of my car? I hope my question makes sense. Knowing that angle of reflection equals angle of incidence, I cannot see how the angles add up to the road appearing on the hood of my car from my perspective in the driver’s seat. Obviously, they do, but I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/2 "2003-06-19T19:30:38Z")
What kind of car do you have? Is the hood slanted towards to road? If so then you are catching the images on the hood from several meters out I’d say. Related/Unrelated story. Whilst dricing to Arizona last year in my wife’s silver Jetta we stopped at a wonderful sunset in Kansas. I took a picture of the sunset and the completely reflected off her hood causing it to appear almost perfectly circular. from the top clouds/sun/horizon = bottom = horizon/sun/clouds. Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/3 "2003-06-19T19:42:46Z")
I am not aware of this phenomenon. Then again, I only wash my car once a year whether it needs it or not. ---
**Author:** ![tastycorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@tastycorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tastycorn)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/4 "2003-06-19T22:24:58Z")
Can you see the stripes on the road in front of the car? ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/5 "2003-06-19T22:27:28Z")
Could be a hologram. You can end up “encoding” your polishing utensil on your hood with all the closely spaced scratches. (See [here](http://www.amasci.com/amateur/holo1.html).) That’s my only guess what it could be. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/6 "2003-06-20T01:11:39Z")
Your car hood isn’t a flat surface, its kind of like one of those funhouse mirrors. Try using a Christmas ball and you’ll see some-what the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![skyzoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e480ec/32.png) [@skyzoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skyzoo)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/7 "2003-06-20T05:08:20Z")
**Drum God** (_cool name_ )… perhaps this is where the word “hoodwink” came from? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/8 "2003-06-20T09:19:05Z")
It works like this - the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, but the reflective surface is inclined away from you, so the upper limit of your cone of sight (represented by the green ray) is still below the horizon (in this example, anyway - if your hood is less inclined, you’ll see less of the road and more of the sky). Note that the rays cross, so the image is inverted - if you are able to see the reflection of the sky, it will be at the part nearest to you. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/9 "2003-06-20T09:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nanoda \* > \*\*Could be a hologram. You can end up “encoding” your polishing utensil on your hood with all the closely spaced scratches. (See [here](http://www.amasci.com/amateur/holo1.html).) That’s my only guess what it could be. \*\* Thanks for that, **Nanoda** - very interesting. (I have a pair of compasses and some perspex at home, I’m going to be trying that at the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-notice-reflections-on-the-hood-of-their-cars/182987/10 "2003-06-20T16:55:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*It works like this - the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, but the reflective surface is inclined away from you, so the upper limit of your cone of sight (represented by the green ray) is still below the horizon (in this example, anyway - if your hood is less inclined, you’ll see less of the road and more of the sky). > > Note that the rays cross, so the image is inverted - if you are able to see the reflection of the sky, it will be at the part nearest to you. \*\* That was a great drawing. That really cleared this up for me. Thanks.