DIY Infinity Mirror

Today I am going to show you how I made an infinity mirror. You might be wondering, what is an infinity mirror? It is a device that tricks your eyes into believing you are looking at something very deep when in reality it isn't.

The key is to have a narrow frame with a mirror at the back, a one way mirror at the front and some lights inside. What happens is that some of the light comes out through the partial mirror in every rebound, so you end up the same lights multiple times. As I write this, I am realizing that it is much easier to show it than to explain it. So, this is the end result.

Materials and tools

You are going to need the following:

• a frame with tall straight walls on the inside. Many frames are not like this, but this is necessary if you want to use an LED strip like me for cool effects
• LED strip
• cut-to-size mirror for the back
• cut-to-size glass or acrylic for the front
• one way mirror film. These are very cheap in Aliexpress
• Jumper (Dupont) cables like the ones you use for breadboards
• USB controller like this one. This is a cheaper and more practical alternative to using a Microbit. There are also wireless versions if you like
• USB power bank
• drill to make a hole
• glue
• something to peel cables
• soldering iron

Instructions

You don't want the cabling to be seen. So, start by making a hole on the side of the frame to hide the cables. Notice how I have carved a flat one for the LED strip and another round one for the cables  

Now you can cut the jumper cables. I have preserved the female side connectors to connect to remote control which is male. The other end needs to be peeled so that it can be soldered to the LED strip, but don't solder it yet.

Time to put the cables through the hole and solder them to the LED strip. Put the cables through the hole one by one to make it easier, otherwise you will need a bigger hole than necessary.

Now you can solder the cables to the LED strip. Make sure you ask an adult to do the soldering for you. Safety first! You can connect the remote control and USB power bank and test the electronics at this stage to make sure everything works as expected.

The final step is to glue the LED strip to the walls and then assemble the mirror at the back and the one way mirror at the front. Be careful when sticking the one way mirror to the glass or acrylic to make sure you don't leave bubbles. Do it very slowly and carefully.

Also, if you want you can add some decorations inside. I have put a Minecraft figurine, but you can add other decorations like Lego minifigs. 

This is what the final product will look like when fully assembled. Hide the remote control, power bank and cables at the back to make it look nicer. In my case I have used a rubber band to attach everything to the back leg of the frame

Good luck building your very own infinity mirror!