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

n₁sinθ;=n₂sinθt
Rearranging Snell’s Law, we get
incidence

To find the critical angle, we find the

value for θ; when θt=90°and thus,sinθ₁
=1.
The resulting value of is equal to the
critical angle θc.
Now, we can solve for θ;, 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,
n₁sinθ;=n₂sinθt
 To find the critical angle,we find
the value for θ; when θt
=90°and
Thus, sinθt =1.
The 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:

Lf 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 is 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,
 Visible light is 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 visible light is 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.

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
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 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.
Application 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.
 How a turtle experience TIR from
inside water
Total internal reflection in soda bottle
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 fiber optics
Material required
 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 ¼-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 centre 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.

Precaution:
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 coloured light.
bibliography

 Wikipedia.com
 Google search engine
 http://physicsed.buffalostate.edu
 Physics NCERT book for class XII