1.

Introduction………………………………………………………5
2. Optical Description…………………………………….……..7
3. Critical Angle……………………………………………………..9
4. Phase shift upon TIR…………………………………..…….12
5. Reflection in Diamond………………………………………14
6. Applications of TIR…………………………………….……..16
7. Examples in everyday life………………………………...18
8. TIR using a soda bottle………………………………..……20
9. Bibliography……………………………………………………..25

4
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.

5
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
index, the light beam will be partially refracted
at the boundary surface. However, if the angle
of incidence is greater than the critical angle
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.

6
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:
 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.

7
 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.

8
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 the air. The critical angle is
given by Snell's law.

Rearranging Snell's Law, we get incidence:

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To find the critical angle, we find the value for

when and thus .The

resulting value of is equal to the critical
angle .
Now, we can solve for , 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 was 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:

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If

11
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
(colors), in contrast to the quarter wave plate.

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 The polarization dependent phase shift is also
the reason why TE and TM guided modes have
different dispersion relations.

13
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 colors!
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
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refracting out of the diamond. This gives
diamonds a tendency to sparkle. The effect can
be enhanced by the cutting of a diamond
gemstone with a 'strategically' planned shape.

15
 Total internal reflection is the operating
principle of automotive rain sensors, which
control automatic windscreen/windshield
wipers.
 Total internal reflection is the operating
principle of optical fibers, which are used in
endoscopes and telecommunications.
 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

16
 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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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 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.
18
This is a different phenomenon from reflection
and refraction. Reflection occurs when light
goes back in the 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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 https://en.wikipedia.org/

 www.google.com

 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 https://www.sciencedirect.com

 https://www.researchgate.net

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