PHYSICS

PROJECT

By
Divyanshu Gupta
XII F
Delhi Public School, Kalyanpur
Board Roll n.

TOTAL
INTERNAL
REFLECTION

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 Divyanshu
Gupta of class XII ,
Delhi Public
School Kalyanpur ,
Kanpur ,
regarding
his
project
titled
SEMICONDUCTORS.

Teachers Signature

ACKNOWLEDGEME
NT

It would be my utmost pleasure to

express
my sincere thanks
to
my
Physics
teacher Mr. Vivek 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 encouraged me to put
forward my project.

CONTENTS
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Introduction
Optical description
Critical angle
Phase shift upon total internal
reflection
V. Total internal reflection in
diamond
VI. Applications of total internal
reflection
VII. Examples in everyday life
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 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 C the critical angle measurement which
is caused by the sun or a light source (measured normal
to the surface):

If < C, 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 > C, 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.
n1 sin i=n2 sin t

Rearranging Snell's Law, we get incidence

sin i=

n2
sin t
n1

To find the critical angle, we find the value for

when

t =90

sin t =1

and thus

of is equal to the critical angle

Now, we can solve for

.The resulting value

c

, and we get the equation

for the critical angle:

c = i=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
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
c =sin1

=41.8
( 1.00
1.50 )

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.

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.

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 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

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Following Books were a source for my project.

APC Laboratory Manual Physics for class XII by

R.S.MITTAL & S.SINGHAL.
NCERT Physics Textbook for class 12
Feynman Lectures on Physics
Robert Ehrlich, Why toast lands jelly-side down:
Zen and the art of physics demonstrations.