PHYSICS PROJECT

On
“Total internal reflection”
In partial fulfilment for the
requirement of term 2
AISSCE 2021-22

Submitted to:. Submitted by

Sir Jaya Prakash Name:Lungthianlak
Riamei
PGT Physics, Rollno:16636049
Department of Physics Class:XII science
Jnv Tamenglong
 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya
Tamenglong
Certificate
This is to certify that the project work entitled “Total Internal
Reflection” submitted to department of physics, Jawahar
Navodaya Vidyalaya, Duigailong, Tamenglong, Manipur in partial
fulfilment of Term II AISSCE 2021-22 for the subject of
physics which was performed by Lungthianlak Riamei of Class
XII science bearing Rollno.:16636049 under my guidance and
supervision in the physics laboratory.

The assistance given to him/her during the course investigation

has deeply acknowledge by him

Date:

PHYSICS TEACHER SIGN EXAMINER

PRINCIPAL SIGN. SCHOOL STAMP

Acknowledgement
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to our physics
Teacher Sir Jaya Prakash for his encouragement, valuable guidance,
comments, and motivation, which has sustained my efforts at all stages
of this project work. His valuable advice and suggestions for the
corrections, modifications and improvement did enhance the perfection
in performing my job well.
I would like to express my gratitude for our honourable principal
Sir L.Horam for whole hearted co-operation and guidance. I am also
thankful for His encouragement and for all the facilities that He
provided for this project work. I sincerely appreciate his magnanimity
by taking me into His fold for which I shall remain indebted to Him
I take special pleasure in acknowledging our lab assistant for his
willingness in providing us with necessary lab equipments and constant
support without which this effort would have been worthless.

Name: Lungthianlak Riamei

Class:. XII science
Rollno.:16636049
JNV Tamenglong,Manipur

Content
Sl.no Description
1 Introduction

2 Demonstration of Total Internal Reflection.

3 Its Applications

4 Total Internal Reflection in Prism

5 Total Internal reflection in Diamond

6 Total internal reflection in optical fibre

7 Total Internal reflection in the formation of
mirage
8 Internal reflection in the formation of
9 Rainbow.
Formation of secondary Rainbow.
10 Conclusion

Introduction
 Total internal reflection is the phenomenon which occurs
when a propagated wave 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, the wave cannot pass through and is
entirely reflected. The critical angle angle of incidence above
which the total internal reflection occurs.

Demonstration of Total Internal Reflection.

Total internal reflection of light 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 medium.

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. If θc is the critical
angle, then the following scenarios depict what will happen
according to the size of the incident angle.
 If θ ≤ θc the ray will split; some of the ray will reflect off the
boundary, and some will refract as it . 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. TIR is
the abbreviation.
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.
What are the conditions necessary for Total ?
 Total Internal Reflection takes place only when:1.
 Light should passes from denser medium to rare
medium.2.
 The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical
angle

CRITICAL ANGLE
The critical angle is the angle of incidence for which the angle of
refraction is 90° . The angle of incidence is measured with
respect to the normal at the refractive boundary. 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
90degrees. It is at this point no light is transmitted into air. The
critical angle θc is given by Snell's law.
Rearranging the Snell’s Law, we get incidence

To find the critical angle, we find the value for θi when θt= 90°
and thus sinθt= 1. The resulting value of θi is equal to the critical
angle θc
Now, we can solve for θi and we get the equation for the critical
angle:
θc= θi=arc sin (n2/n1),
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 traveling
Through acrylic glass (with an index of refraction of
Approximately 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
Θc = arcsin ( 1.00/1.50 ) = 41.8°
Light incident on the border with an angle less than 41.8°would
be partially transmitted, while light incident on the border at
larger angles with respect to normal would be totally internally
reflected.
If the fraction n1/n2 is greater than 1,then arcsine is not
defined-meaning that total internal reflection does not occur at
very shallow or grazing incident angles
So, the critical angle is only defined when n2/n1 is less than or
equal to 1
APPLICATIONS
There are many applications of Total Internal Reflection. Some
are listed below:
1.Diamonds shine brightly due to total internal reflection.
2.Total internal reflection is the operating principle of optical
fibres, which are used in endoscopes and telecommunications.
3.Formation of the Mirage in the dry season.
4.Prism
5.Formation of the Rainbow
 Total Internal Reflection in Prism

Many optical instruments use right-angles prisms to reflect a

beam of light through 90 or 180 degree {by total internal
reflection} such as cameras, binoculars, periscope and
telescope. One of the angles of right angled prism is90 degree.
When a ray of light strikes a face of prism perpendicular, it
enters the prism without deviation and strikes the hypotenuse
at an angle of 45 degree. Since the angle of incidence 45 degree
is greater than critical angle of the glass which is 42 degree, the
light is totally reflected by the prism through an angle of 90
degree. Two such prisms are used in periscope. The light is
totally reflected by the prism by an angle of 180 degree. Two
such prisms are used in binoculars.
Total Internal reflection in Diamond

Diamonds achieve their brilliance partially from total internal

reflection because diamonds have a high refractive index
(about 2.3), the critical angle for the total internal reflection is
only about 25 degrees. Incident light therefore strikes many of
the internal surfaces before its trikes one less than 25 degree
and emerges. After many such reflections, the colours in the
light are separated, and seen individually.
Total internal reflection in optical fibre

In the late 20Th Century, a new practical application of total

internal reflection was found in the use of fiber optics. If the
light enters a solid glass or plastic tube obliquely, the light can
be totally reflected at the boundary of the tube and, after a
number of successive total reflections, emerge from the other
end. Glass fibre scan be drawn to a very small diameter, coated
with a material of lower refractive index, and then assembled
into flexible bundles or fused into plates of fibers used to
transmit images, telephone calls, video signals and computer
data. The reflective properties of fiber optic strands make fiber
optic cables more efficient than cables that transmit signals
electrically. The flexible bundles, which can be used to provide
illumination as well as to transmit images, are valuable in
medical examination, as they can be inserted into various
openings
Total Internal reflection in the formation of
mirage

It is due to the phenomena of ‘total internal reflection’. On a

very hot day in a desert, the air just in contact with sand is
hotter than the air above it due to the high temperature of
sand. This causes the refractive index of the air in contact with
the sand to be lower than that of the air above it.Thus,
sunlight passes through a medium of higher refractive index
to that of lower refractive index. At a particular angle, the
angle of incidence becomes greater than the critical angle and
all the conditions of total internal reflections are fulfilled. This
causes the sunlight to reflect from the interface of both the air
columns itself without touching the sand. Hence, it appears as
a watery surface from far off distances, also known as mirage.
While going nearer to the apparent water, the angle of
incidence of sunlight decreases and becomes less than the
critical angle. So, total internal reflection does not occur for
that point at that angle and hence the mirage disappears.
Mirage is thus visible only when the distance from a point is
greater than a critical distance determined by the refractive
index of the air columns to satisfy the condition of critical
angle for total internal reflection to occur.

Total internal reflection in the formation of

Rainbow

The formation of a rainbow is a phenomenon due to combined

effect of dispersion, refraction and reflection of sunlight by
spherical water droplets of rain.
Conditions for observing a rainbow:
Sun should be shining in one part of the sky (say near western
horizon) while it is raining in the opposite part of the sky (say
eastern horizon)
Sunlight is first refracted as it enters a raindrop, which causes
the different wavelengths (colours) of white light
toseparate.Longer wave length of light (red) are bent the least
while the shorter wavelength (violet) are bent the most. These
component rays strike the inner surface of the water drop and
get internally reflected if the refracted angle is greater than the
critical angle (48º, in this case). The reflected light is refracted
again as it comes out of the drop. The violet light emerges at an
angle of 40º related to the incoming sunlight and red light
emerges at an angle of 42º.For other colours, angles lie in
between these two values.

Formation of secondary Rainbow:

When light rays undergo two internal reflections inside a
raindrop, instead of one as in the primary rainbow, a secondary
rainbow is formed. It is due to four-step process. The intensity
of light is reduced at the second reflection and hence the
secondary rainbow is fainter than the primary rainbow. Further,
the order of the colours is reversed in it.

Conclusion:
The project clearly explains the principle of the
“TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION”. It helped us to
Understand the various applications of total internal reflection.
Further, while working on it, we learned the logics and ideas
behind the ray optics and its applications.