How to show production of two reflections is rotation

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In fact ,there are many question about production of reflection in mathematics . But seemly, they are talking it in plane.

As I know ,if V is a n-dim real vector space, the elements of O(V) is reflection and rotation of V. But I don't know if use matrix to present element of O(V) , how to distinguish what are reflection ,what are rotation ? I mean what matrix is rotation ,what is reflection. Then, how to show the product of two reflections is rotation from the normal vector of hyperplane of reflection to another.

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If you're working with a real inner product on $V$ with positive definite signature then we can describe the product of two reflections geometrically.

First, some linear algebra. Say $V$ is an internal direct sum of subspaces, $V=V_1\oplus V_2$. Suppose further that $A$ is a linear map on $V$ which preserves $V_1$ and $V_2$. That is, it restricts to linear maps $A_1$ and $A_2$ on them. Then we may use the notation $A=A_1\oplus A_2$. (Conversely, given linear maps $A_1$ and $A_2$ on $V_1$ and $V_2$, there is a unique linear map $A$ on $V$ that restricts to them.) If we can do the same thing for another linear map $B$ on $V$, then we have $A+B=(A_1+B_1)\oplus (A_2+B_2)$ and $AB=(A_1B_1)\oplus(A_2B_2)$. In other words, there is an algebra homomorphism

$$ \mathrm{End}(V_1)\times\mathrm{End}(V_2)\to \mathrm{End}(V_1\oplus V_2). $$

Thus, to compose $A$ and $B$ we may find subspaces they stabilize and compose the two transformations "componentwise." This works with more than two components too.

Suppose $A$ is a reflection on $V$ across a hyperplane $\Pi$ perpendicular to some one-dimensional subspace $P$. Then $A$ stabilizes $P$ and $\Pi$. Moreoever, it acts as the identity on $\Pi$ and the negation map on $P$. Then suppose $B$ is another reflection, this time across a hyperplane perpendicular to a different one-dimensional subspace $L$. Now let's write $V=P\oplus L\oplus W$ where $W$ is the orthogonal complement of $\mathrm{span}(P,L)=P+L$. Then $A$ and $B$ act as $\mathrm{id}$ on $W$, so $AB$ acts as $\mathrm{id}$ on $W$ as well, and it suffices to see how $AB$ acts on the two-dimensional subspace $P+L$.

For this, we can draw a picture:

pic

This plane represents the span of $P$ and $L$. The axis $P'$ and $L'$ are the lines perpendicualr to $P$ and $L$ respectively. Starting with a vector $x$, flip it across $P'$ to get $y$, then flip $y$ across $L'$ to get $z$. The effect of going from $x$ to $z$ is moving by an angle of $2(a+b)$. But that's exactly twice the angle between $P'$ and $L'$, which is independent of the original vector $x$, so all vectors are rotated by an angle of $2(a+b)$.

The orthogonal group $O(V)$ has two connected components. The connected component of the identity is $SO(V)$, the group of rotations. The other connected component includes hyperplane reflections, but it also generally includes other transformations which are not hyperplane reflections (such as $-I_3\in O(3)$, which has no nonzero fixed points, let alone a hyperplane's worth). In any case, these two connected components are precisely the fibers of $\det:O(V)\to\{\pm1\}$. That is, an element of $O(V)$ is a rotation if it has determinant $1$ and has determinant $-1$ otherwise.

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Show that any point in the intersection of the two hyperplanes of the reflections is a fixed point and show that the normal vector you talked about goes to the other vector.

Maybe start with $\Bbb{R}^2$ or $\Bbb{R}^3$ to get a feel for it.