Final answer:
Images are inverted in a pinhole camera because light rays from the top and bottom of an object intersect at the pinhole and project inversely on the camera's internal surface, creating a real and inverted image.
Step-by-step explanation:
Images get inverted in a pinhole camera due to the way light travels through the small opening (pinhole) and projects onto the surface inside the camera. When light rays from the top and bottom of an object enter the pinhole, they cross paths and project on the opposite side of the interior surface, making the top part of the object appear at the bottom on the projected image, and vice versa. This inversion is because the pinhole acts as a conjugate to the focal point of the lens, thereby creating a real, inverted image.
In optics, when an object is farther than the focal length from the lens, the image that is formed is real, inverted, and on the opposite side from where the object is positioned. The minus sign in the magnification equation (m = -di/do) confirms that the image is inverted. This principle is not only relevant for pinhole cameras but also applies to other optical instruments like telescopes, microscopes, and camera lenses.