Total Internal Reflection

• Diagram 1 – light is refracted.

• Diagram 2 – Light is refracted at 900, the angle of
incidence in this case is called the critical angle, Θc
• Diagram 3 – Any angle bigger than the critical angle
will show Total Internal Reflection
 The Critical Angle
• The critical angle,Θc is the angle of
incidence when the angle of refraction is
900.
• It is the smallest angle of incidence above
which Total Internal Reflection occurs. It
is often given the symbol, Θc
 Total Internal Reflection
• Takes place when all of a light ray is completely
reflected and none of it is refracted.
• This takes place at angles above the critical angle,
Θc
Uses of Total Internal Reflection
• Total internal reflection is used to send
light signals along optical fibres.
• This can be used to send
telecommunications such as internet, TV
and phone.
• This is how Virgin Media provide their
services.
2008 Qu: 16
2002 Qu: 27
Reflector Telescope
• Parabolic mirror:
• We used parabolic mirror instead of concave mirror is due
to Correction of Spherical Aberration. Spherical aberration
occurs when parallel rays of light incident on a spherical
mirror do not converge to a single focal point. Instead,
different rays focus at different points, resulting in a blurred
image. Parabolic mirrors, with their specific curvature, are
designed to minimize spherical aberration, ensuring that all
parallel rays converge at the same focal point
•
• Reflector telescopes are often used instead of
refractor telescope for several reasons:
• Chromatic aberration: Reflectors typically exhibit less
chromatic aberration compared to refractors. Chromatic
aberration is a phenomenon where different colors of light
come to focus at different points, causing color fringing in the
observed image. Reflectors do not suffer from chromatic
aberration because mirrors reflect all colors of light in the
same way.