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01 INTRODUCTION

02 OPTICAL DESCRIPTION

03 CRITICAL ANGLE

04 PHASE SHIFT UPON TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

05 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION IN DIAMOND

06 APPLICATIONS OF TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

07 EXAMPLES IN EVERYDAY LIFE

08 TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION USING SODA BOTTLE

[EXPERIMENT]

09 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 De the critical angle
measurement which is caused by the sun or a light source
(measured normal to the surface):

If 00e, 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 0>0e, 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.

n 1 sin θ i =n 2 sin θt

Rearranging Snell's Law, we get incidence

sin θ i = n2/n1sin θt

To find the critical angle, we find the value for θ when θt= 90
deg and thus sinθ t = 1 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:

θc = θi= sin⁻¹ (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 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
0c = sin-1 (1.00/1.50 = 41.8)
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 IM
guided modes have different dispersion relations.
REFLECTION IN DIAMOND
From glass to air the critical angle is about 420 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
EXAMPLES IN EVERYDAY LIFE
Explanation:

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 fibre
optics.
Materials
• empty soda pop bottle (2 litre)
• tape
• hand drill
• drill bits
• water
• green laser
• bucket
• old 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 a 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