virtual image

Picture or appearance of a real object, formed by light that passes through a lens or is reflected by a mirror, that cannot be projected onto a screen. An image produced by a concave lens is an example of a virtual image.

Rays of light passing through a concave lens produce an image. The light from an object passes through the lens and is refracted; the light spreads out or diverges. If the diverging rays of light are traced backwards to the point where all the rays of light intersect, the position of the image is found. The virtual image is formed at the point from which the rays appear to come.