Since a mirror reflects most of the light that falls on it, as does any white body, what is the difference between the two?
This is a matter of geometry. A perfect mirror reflects all of the light that strikes it, but reflects it as regular, or specular, reflection. That means all the light is reflected at an angle equal to the angle of incidence and opposite the normal to the surface. A perfect white also reflects all the light incident on it, but reflects that light diffusely. In other words, the white scatters the incident light in all directions. That’s why a white object looks white from all angles, but you can only see yourself in a mirror when you look at it directly (in line with the normal to it’s surface).
