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Physics Project On Total Internal Reflection PDF
Physics Project On Total Internal Reflection PDF
PROJECT
By
Divyanshu Gupta
XII F
Delhi Public School, Kalyanpur
Board Roll n.
TOTAL
INTERNAL
REFLECTION
CERTIFICATE
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
INTRODUCTION
n2
sin θi= sin θt
n1
θi
To find the critical angle, we find the value for
θt =90 ° sin θt =1
when and thus .The resulting value
θc
of is equal to the critical angle .
θi
Now, we can solve for , and we get the equation
for the critical angle:
n2
θc =θ i=sin
−1
( )
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
θc =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 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
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Following Books were a source for my project.