Method of images
![The field of a positive charge above a flat conducting surface, found by the method of images.](/Images/godic/202501/27/VFPt_imagecharge_plane_horizontal_plusminus.svg4524.png")
![A magnetic dipole over the superconducting surface. The field between the magnet and surface is the same as between this magnet and a symmetric one.](/Images/godic/202501/27/Mirror_magnets4524.png")
The method of images (or method of mirror images) is a mathematical tool for solving differential equations, in which the domain of the sought function is extended by the addition of its mirror image with respect to a symmetry hyperplane. As a result, certain boundary conditions are satisfied automatically by the presence of a mirror image, greatly facilitating the solution of the original problem.