Physics

Investigatory
Project
 ARYAN BHATIA
12th A
RAMJAS SCHOOL
 TOTAL
INTERNAL
REFLECTIO
N
 Certificate
This is hereby to certify that the original
and genuine investigation work has been
carried out to investigate about the
subject matter and the related data
collection and investigation has been
 completed solely, sincerely and
satisfactorily by Aryan Bhatia a student
of class 12th A of Ranjas School,
R.K.Puram, New Delhi regarding his
project titled

TEACHER SIGNATURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would be my utmost pleasure to
express my sincere thanks to my
Physics teacher Mrs.Anu
Mishra mam in providing a
helping hand in this project. Her
valuable guidance, support and
supervision all through this project
are responsible for attaining its
present form. I would also like to
thank my parents and friends as
they encouraged me to put forward
my project.
 CONTENTS
· Introduction
· Optical description
· Critical angle
· Phase shift upon total internal
reflection
· Total internal reflection in
diamond
· Applications of total internal
reflection
· Examples in everyday life
· Total Internal Reflection using a
Soda Bottle{EXPERIMENT}

Bibliography
 INTRODUCTION
Total internal reflection is an optical phenomenon that
happens when a ray of light strikes a medium boundary
at an angle larger than a particular critical angle with
respect to the normal to the surface. If the refractive
index is lower on the other side of the boundary and the
incident angle is greater than the critical angle, no light
can pass through and all of the light is reflected. The
critical angle is the angle of incidence above which the
total internal reflectance occurs.
When a light beam crosses a boundary between
materials with different kinds of refractive indices, the
light beam will be partially refracted at the boundary
surface, and partially reflected. However, if the angle of
incidence is greater (i.e. the ray is closer to being
parallel to the boundary) than the critical angle – the
angle of incidence at which light is refracted such that it
 travels along the boundary – then the light will stop
crossing the boundary altogether and instead be totally
reflected back internally. This can only occur where light
travels from a medium with a higher [n1=higher
refractive index] to one with a lower refractive index
[n2=lower refractive index]. For example, it will occur
when passing from glass to air, but not when passing
from air to glass.

OPTICAL DESCRIPTION
Total internal reflection can be demonstrated using a semi-
circular block of glass or plastic. A "ray box" shines a
narrow beam of light (a "ray") onto the glass. The semi-
circular shape ensures that a ray pointing towards the centre
of the flat face will hit the curved surface at a right angle;
this will prevent refraction at the air/glass boundary of the
curved surface. At the glass/air boundary of the flat surface,
what happens will depend on the angle? Where is θC the
critical angle measurement which is caused by the sun or a
light source (measured normal to the surface):
• If θ < θC, the ray will split. Some of the ray will reflect
off the boundary, and some will refract as it passes through.
This is not total internal reflection.
• If θ > θC, the entire ray reflects from the boundary. None
passes through. This is called total internal reflection.

This physical property makes optical fibres useful and

prismatic binoculars possible. It is also what gives diamonds
their distinctive sparkle, as diamond has an unusually high
refractive index.
 CRITICAL ANGLE
The critical angle is the angle of incidence above which
total internal reflection occurs. The angle of incidence is
measured with respect to the normal at the refractive
boundary (see diagram illustrating Snell's law).
Consider a light ray passing from glass into air. The
light emanating from the interface is bent towards the
glass. When the incident angle is increased sufficiently,
the transmitted angle (in air) reaches 90 degrees. It is at
this point no light is transmitted into air. The critical
angle is given by Snell's law.

Rearranging Snell's Law, we get incidence

To find the critical angle, we find the value for
when and thus .The resulting value of is equal to
the critical angle.
Now, we can solve for , and we get the equation for the
critical angle:

If the incident ray is precisely at the critical angle, the

refracted ray is tangent to the boundary at the point of
incidence. If for example, visible light were travelling
through acrylic glass (with an index of refraction of
1.50) into air (with an index of refraction of 1.00), the
calculation would give the critical angle for light from
acrylic into air, which is
 PHASE SHIFT UPON
TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
A lesser-known aspect of total internal reflection is that
the reflected light has an angle dependent phase shift
between the reflected and incident light.
Mathematically this means that the Fresnel reflection
coefficient becomes a complex rather than a real
number. This phase shift is polarization dependent and
grows as the incidence angle deviates further from the
critical angle toward grazing incidence.
The polarization dependent phase shift is long known
and was used by Fresnel to design the Fresnel rhomb
which allows transforming circular polarization to
linear polarization and vice versa for a wide range of
wavelengths (colours), in contrast to the quarter wave
plate. The polarization dependent phase shift is also the
reason why TE and TM guided modes have different
dispersion relations.
TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION IN
DIAMOND
From glass to air the critical angle is about 42o but it varies
from one medium to another. The material that gives the
smallest critical angle is diamond. That is why they sparkle
so much! Rays of light can easily be made to 'bounce around
inside them' by careful cutting of the stone and the
refraction at the surfaces splits the light into a spectrum of
colours!
Relatively speaking, the critical angle 24.4o for the diamond-
air boundary is extremely small. This property of the
diamond-air boundary plays an important role in the
brilliance of a diamond gemstone. Having a small critical
angle, light has the tendency to become "trapped" inside of a
diamond once it enters. Most rays approach the diamond at
angles of incidence greater than the critical angle (as it is so
small) so a light ray will typically undergo TIR several times
before finally refracting out of the diamond. This gives
diamond a tendency to sparkle. The effect can be enhanced
by the cutting of a diamond gemstone with a 'strategically'
planned shape.
APPLICATIONS OF
TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION

·
· Total internal reflection is the operating principle
of optical fibres, which are used in endoscopes and
telecommunications.
· Total internal reflection is the operating principle
of automotive rain sensors, which control
automatic windscreen/windshield wipers.
· Another application of total internal reflection is
the spatial filtering of light.
· Prismatic binoculars use the principle of total
 internal reflections to get a very clear image.
· Gonioscopy employs total internal reflection to
view the anatomical angle formed between the
eye's cornea and iris.
· Optical fingerprinting devices use frustrated total
internal reflection in order to record an image of a
person's fingerprint without the use of ink.
· A Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope
uses the evanescent wave produced by TIR to
excite fluorophores close to a surface. This is useful
for the study of surface properties of biological
samples.

EXAMPLES IN
EVERYDAY LIFE
Total internal reflection can be observed while swimming,
when one opens one's eyes just under the water's surface. If
the water is calm, its surface appears mirror-like.
One can demonstrate total internal reflection by filling a
sink or bath with water, taking a glass tumbler, and placing
it upside-down over the plug hole (with the tumbler
completely filled with water). While water remains both in
the upturned tumbler and in the sink surrounding it, the
plug hole and plug are visible since the angle of refraction
between glass and water is not greater than the critical
angle. If the drain is opened and the tumbler is kept in
position over the hole, the water in the tumbler drains out
leaving the glass filled with air, and this then acts as the plug.
Viewing this from above, the tumbler now appears mirrored
because light reflects off the air/glass interface.
This is different phenomenon from reflection and refraction.
Reflection occurs when light goes back in same medium.
Refraction occurs when light travels from different
mediums. Here both are not happening. This is due to both
and a mixture of both.Another common example of total
internal reflection is a critically cut diamond. This is what
gives it maximum spark

Total Internal Reflection

using a Soda Bottle

Explanation
 In this case, nair = 1.00 nwater = 1.33. Therefore:

In this demo light will continually reflect through the stream

of water creating total internal reflection (TIR). The stream
of water will 'carry' the light though, to the end of the
stream.

Total Internal Reflection is the principle behind fiber optics.

Materials
· empty soda pop bottle (2 liter)
 · tape
· hand drill
· drill bits
· water
· green laser
· bucket
·

ol
d books, etc for stands

Procedure
· First set up the soda bottle by drilling a hole near the
bottom of the bottle. Begin with a drill bit that has a
diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the
laser that will be used. We used a 1/4 inch drill bit,
however sizes as small as 7/32 inch worked as well.
· First tape the hole and then fill the bottle with water. The
cap will prevent leaking because it creates a vacuum in
the bottle.
· Stand the soda bottle on top of a stack of books so the
hole is facing the bucket. The laser should be placed in a
binder clip so it stays on, and then set on a stack of books
and papers. The laser should be lined up so that the laser
light goes through the soda bottle, and into the center of
the hole. See for details.
· Carefully remove the tape and then unscrew the top of
the soda bottle. The light should reflect within the stream
of water so that you could see at least a few points of
reflection. The light should be visible through the entire
stream.
 · If the reflections of the light aren’t clear, it may be
necessary to expand the hole by drilling through the
existing hole with a larger drill bit. This process may
need to be repeated several times.

Notes
· This is an messy experiment. Be ready to adjust the
bucket which catches the stream of water.
· Also be aware that the stream's curvature will change
as the water level decreases. It will bend closer to the
bottle, and the bucket may need to be adjusted again.
When the water level is a little above the hole there will
be no total internal reflection although the stream will
continue. Place the cap back on, or put the bottle inside
of the bucket.
· Make sure to have lots of paper towels! Towels or rags
could be useful too. However, this mess is water, and
therefore easy to clean up.

· Some
 resources suggest putting a drop of food coloring in the
bottom of the bucket to match the laser light, giving the
appearance that the water has permanently 'trapped'
the colored light.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Following Books and websites were a source for my
project.

· Wikipedia
· NCERT Physics Textbook for class 12
· Feynman Lectures on Physics
·
Google