Image

An image is a visual representation. An image can be <a href="/facts/Two-dimensional_space/f4b397W8">two-dimensional</a>, such as a <a href="/facts/Drawing/DA7GfHNW">drawing</a>, <a href="/facts/Painting/ygQ47K3b">painting</a>, or <a href="/facts/Photograph/gnq0f1or">photograph</a>, or <a href="/facts/Three-dimensional_space/KAqKWUbS">three-dimensional</a>, such as a <a href="/facts/Carving/ICmPM8XB">carving</a> or <a href="/facts/Sculpture/F01q8gtb">sculpture</a>. Images may be displayed through other media, including a <a href="/facts/Projector/ucQKkpAS">projection</a> on a surface, activation of electronic signals, or <a href="/facts/Display_device/yX1Mypk0">digital displays</a>; they can also be reproduced through mechanical means, such as <a href="/facts/Photography/ezLPT43M">photography</a>, <a href="/facts/Printmaking/9maDzuae">printmaking</a>, or <a href="/facts/Photocopier/aF7URdyU">photocopying</a>. Images can also be <a href="/facts/Animation/093f9nUg">animated</a> through digital or physical processes.
In the context of <a href="/facts/Signal_processing/Npaja6zb">signal processing</a>, an image is a distributed amplitude of color(s). In <a href="/facts/Optics/p0vq4S1T">optics</a>, the term image (or optical image) refers specifically to the reproduction of an object formed by light waves coming from the object.
A volatile image exists or is perceived only for a short period. This may be a reflection of an object by a mirror, a projection of a <a href="/facts/Camera_obscura/0xEbeJKd">camera obscura</a>, or a scene displayed on a <a href="/facts/Cathode-ray_tube/8NVGx5C7">cathode-ray tube</a>. A fixed image, also called a <a href="/facts/Hard_copy/uUBR0yad">hard copy</a>, is one that has been recorded on a material object, such as <a href="/facts/Paper/FUETwwKV">paper</a> or <a href="/facts/Textile/PJrVeM5S">textile</a>.
A <a href="/facts/Mental_image/loHqqIHB">mental image</a> exists in an individual's mind as something one remembers or imagines. The subject of an image does not need to be real; it may be an abstract concept such as a <a href="/facts/Graph_theory/VVPCd4TX">graph</a> or function or an <a href="/facts/Imagination/FD85g9cD">imaginary</a> entity. For a mental image to be understood outside of an individual's mind, however, there must be a way of conveying that mental image through the words or visual productions of the subject.

Image open-in-new

Image