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Physics-project-on-total-internal-reflection
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derecho administrativo 1 (H.H. Maharaja Hanwant Singh Memorial Girls College)

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PHYSICS
PROJECT

By Aryan Jain
XII S1
Roll no. 21657045

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TOTAL
INTERNAL
REFLECTION

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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 JAIN

Teacher’s signature

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It would be my utmost pleasure to
express my sincere thanks to my
Physics teacher Mr. Subhash
Gupta in providing a helping hand
in this project. His valuable
guidance, support and supervision
all through this project are
responsible for attaining its
present form. I would also like to
thank my parents as they

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encouraged me to put forward my

project.

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CONTENTS
I. Introduction

II. Optical description

III. Critical angle

IV. Phase shift upon total internal

reflection

V. Total internal reflection in diamond

VI. Applications of total internal reflection

VII. Examples in everyday life

Bibliography

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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.

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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

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diamonds their distinctive sparkle, as diamond has an

unusually high refractive index.

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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.
n1sin θi=n2 sin θt

Rearranging Snell's Law, we get incidence

n2
sin θi= sin θ n1 t

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To find the critical angle, we find the value for

θi θt=90 ° sin θt=1
when and thus .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:
n
θc=θi=sin−
1(2)
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 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
−1
1.00
θc=sin ( )=41.8
1.50

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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.

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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. The diagram to the left
depicts the total internal reflection within a diamond
gemstone with a 'strategic' and a 'non-strategic' cut.

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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.

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▪ 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.

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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

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Class XII text book
• www.google.com
• www.youtube.com

Teacher’s Signature

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