How does a plane mirror form a virtual image?

A plane mirror forms a virtual image because the light rays reflecting off its surface do not actually converge at the image's location. Instead, the image appears to be situated at a distance behind the mirror, created by the brain tracing the reflected rays back to a point of origin.1

This process is governed by the law of reflection, which states that when light strikes a smooth, polished surface, the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. Because the mirror surface is flat, it reflects light in a predictable manner, producing an image that is the same size as the object. Unlike a real image, which can be projected onto a screen because the light rays physically focus at that position, a virtual image cannot be captured on a screen because the rays do not originate from the space behind the mirror.231