Front-Surface Mirror: Glass Silvered on the Face by the Liebig Reaction

Optical mirrors carry their silver on the front, so light never passes through the glass and no ghost image forms. Silver one face of clean glass by the Liebig reaction, rinse it, and leave the silver bare and facing out. Mix the silver solution fresh and destroy what is left with dilute acid at once: aged solution can form explosive silver nitride. The picture: our diagram, front- versus back-silvered.