Physics Investigatory Project

Total Internal Reflection

Aayushi Dipankar
12E
Delhi Public School, Hyderabad
 CONTENTS
I. Introduction
II. Optical description
III. Total internal reflection
IV. Critical angle
V. Phase shift upon total internal reflection
VI. Applications of total internal reflection
VII. Examples in everyday life
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
semicircular 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
 Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection is the phenomenon of reflection of light

which occurs when a ray of light traveling in a denser medium is

incident at the interfere of the two media at an angle greater than

the critical angle for that pair of media.

Consider a surface xy separates the rarer medium a from the

denser medium b. A ray of light OA from the object O in denser

medium incident normally on the surface of separation, gets

refracted into the rarer medium as such along AL. Another ray of

light incident along the oblique path OA, is refracted away from

normal along the path A1B1 in rarer medium. As the angle of

incidence is increased, the angle of refraction also goes on

increasing, till for a certain angle of incidence C, called the critical

angle. When angle of incidence is greater than critical angle then

total internal reflection takes place.

Conditions for Total Internal Reflection

1. The ray incident on the interface should travel in optically
denser medium.
2. The angle of incidence should be greater than the critical angle
for the given pair of media.
 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 θi when

θt=90 ° and thus sin θt=1. The resulting value of is equal to
the critical angle θc . Now, we can solve for θi , 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.
 Applications of Total Internal
Reflection

1. Totally Reflection Prism :

To deviate a ray of light through 90o and 180o.

A right angled isosceles prism can be used to cause total internal
reflection. In such a right angled prism when a ray of light is incident
normally to its face AB, it passes into prism as incidence is 45o. But for
glass (m = 1.5), the value of critical angle is about 41.8o. Since the value
of incident angle is greater than the critical angle for glass, the ray of
right suffers total internal refection. As a result, it gets incident on the
force AC at 90o and comes out of the prism as such. It follows that the
path of the ray of right was been deviated by the prism through 90o.
The path of a ray undergoing a deviation of 90o due to one internal
reflection but in same way and by same process due to two internal
reflection, a ray can be deviated through 180o. This arrangement is
used in prism-binoculars.
Advantages of Totally Reflecting Prism over the Silvered Plane Mirror.
● A reflecting prism does not require any silvering.
● A silvered plane mirror always absorbs some light. In a good
mirror, the reflection of light about 90-95%. However, in a
reflecting prism, almost 100% reflection is secured.
● Due to imperfect and non-uniform silvering of the mirror, the
image obtained with a mirror is oftenly not of a good quality.
2. Mirage :

It is an optical illusion observed in desert in a hot day. The object such

as tree is observed inverted and observer gets an impression that there
is a pool of water. This phenomena is known as mirage.
Due to intense heat, the surface of earth becomes quite hot and the
temperature of air near the surface of earth is max. The temp of the
other layers of the air goes on decreasing as one goes up. Dimity as
well as refractive index of air increases slightly for higher layers. Thus a
ray of light traveling from point O of a tree passes through air of
gradually decreasing refractive index and is therefore refracted more
and more away from the normal and accordingly the angle of incidence
goes on increasing. At a layer, when the angle of incidence becomes
greater than the critical angle, total internal reflection takes place. Then
the ray of light starts traversing layers of increasing refractive index and
goes on bending more and more towards the normal. Ultimately, when
the ray reaches the eye of the observer, it appears to be coming from
the point I. Hence the inverted image of the tree produces the
impression of reflection from a pool of water.

3. Brilliance of Diamonds and Other Precious Stones :

Diamond shines very brightly because it has a very high refractive index
and very low critical angle i.e. = 2.47 & C = 230 . Dur to low critical angle,
a diamond cut so as to have a large number of faces, such that a ray of
light entering it from one face undergoes repeated total internal
reflections from other faces. As a result, the faces through which the
light emerges, shine very brilliantly.
4. Optical Fibres :

In 1870, John Tyndall, a British physicist demonstrated that light could

be made to follow curved path along a thin stream of water coming out
of a water tank. This effect was made use of an illuminated fountains.
The light follows curved path it suffers a series of total internal
reflections.
Optical fibres commits of thousands of strands of a very fine quality
glass or quartz of refractive index about 1.7 or so. The thickness of a
strand is about 10-6 cm. The strands are coated with a layer of some
material of lower refractive index (m=1.5).
When light is incident at a small angle at are end, it gets refracted into
strands and gets incident on the interface of the fibres and the coating.
The angle of incidence being greater than critical angle, the ray of light
undergoes total internal reflections. Each fibre act as a pipe and such a
bundle of fibres can be used to convey images along paths of any
shape. The optical fibre does not bend light. Instead, light follows the
zin-zag path through the fibres.
5. Looming :
It is an optical illusion observed in the cold countries. In which
observers get an impression that object is placed in air.

Uses
i) Optical fibres are used inn the field of communication
and the computers.
ii) The optical fibres are used for making medical
investigation.
iii) The optical fibre sensors have been used to measure
temperature and pressure.
iv) The optical are used for transmitting the optical signals
and the two dimensional pictures.
v) The optical fibre in the form of photometric sensors are
used for measuring the blood flow in the heart.
vi) The optical fibre in the form of refract meters are used
to determine the refractive indices of liquids.
vii) Optical fibre are used in telephone and other
transmitting cables.
viii) Optical fibre are used in transmission and reception of
electrical signals by converting them first into light signal.
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 mirrorlike.
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.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

● Modern’s abc of Physics.

● Pradeep’s Fundamental Physics.
● Dinesh a to z in Physics.
● Science for all