THE OVERHEAD PROJECTOR

Defined humorously by Jones as “a well-built horizontal surface where mugs of coffee may conveniently be placed”.

Overhead Projectors project transparencies onto a screen or a white wall.

An overhead projector works on the same principle as a 35mm slide projector, in which a focusing lens projects light from an illuminated slide onto a projection screen where a real image is formed. However some differences are necessitated by the much larger size of the transparencies used (generally the size of a printed page), and the requirement that the transparency be placed face up (and readable to the presenter). For the latter purpose, the projector includes a mirror just before or after the focusing lens to fold the optical system toward the horizontal. That mirror also accomplishes a reversal of the image in order that the image projected onto the screen corresponds to that of the slide as seen by the presenter looking down at it, rather than a mirror image thereof.