Introduction

A common Physics lab is to sight through the long side of an isosceles triangle
at a pin or other object held behind the opposite face. When done so, an unusual
observation - a discrepant event - is observed. The diagram on the left below
depicts the physical situation. A ray of light entered the face of the triangular
block at a right angle to the boundary. This ray of light passes across the
boundary without refraction since it was incident along the normal (recall the
If I Were An Archer Fish page). The ray of light then travels in a straight line
through the glass until it reaches the second boundary. Now instead of
transmitting across this boundary, all of the light seems to reflect off the
boundary and transmit out the opposite face of the isosceles triangle. This
discrepant event bothers many as they spend several minutes looking for the
light to refract through the second boundary. Then finally, to their amazement,
they looked through the third face of the block and clearly see the ray. What
happened? Why did light not refract through the second face?
The phenomenon observed in this part of the lab is known as total internal
reflection. Total internal reflection, or TIR as it is intimately called, is the
reflection of the total amount of incident light at the boundary between two
media. TIR is the topic of focus in Lesson 3.
To understand total internal reflection, we will begin with a thought

experiment. Suppose that a laser beam is submerged in a tank of water (don't do

this at home) and pointed upwards towards water-air boundary. Then suppose

that the angle at which the beam is directed upwards is slowly altered,

beginning with small angles of incidence and proceeding towards larger and

larger angles of incidence. What would be observed in such an experiment? If

we understand the principles of boundary behavior, we would expect that we

would observe both reflection and refraction. And indeed, that is what is

observed (mostly). But that's not the only observation that we could make. We

would also observe that the intensity of the reflected and refracted rays do not

remain constant. At angle of incidence close to 0 degrees, most of the light

energy is transmitted across the boundary and very little of it is reflected. As

the angle is increased to greater and greater angles, we would begin to observe

less refraction and more reflection. That is, as the angle of incidence is

increased, the brightness of the refracted ray decreases and the brightness of the

reflected ray increases. Finally, we would observe that the angles of the
reflection and refraction are not equal. Since the light waves would refract

away from the normal (a case of the SFA principle of refraction), the angle of

refraction would be greater than the angle of incidence. And if this were the

case, the angle of refraction would also be greater than the angle of reflection

(since the angles of reflection and incidence are the same). As the angle of

incidence is increased, the angle of refraction would eventually reach a 90-

degree angle. These principles are depicted in the diagram below.

The maximum possible angle of refraction is 90-degrees. If you think about it (a

practice that always helps), you recognize that if the angle of refraction were

greater than 90 degrees, then the refracted ray would lie on the incident side of

the medium - that's just not possible. So in the case of the laser beam in the

water, there is some specific value for the angle of incidence (we'll call it
the critical angle) that yields an angle of refraction of 90-degrees. This

particular value for the angle of incidence could be calculated using Snell's

Law (ni = 1.33, nr = 1.000, = 90 degrees, = ???) and would be found to be

48.6 degrees. Any angle of incidence that is greater than 48.6 degrees would not

result in refraction. Instead, when the angles of incidence is greater than 48.6

degrees (the critical angle), all of the energy (the total energy) carried by the

incident wave to the boundary stays within the water (internal to the original

medium) and undergoes reflection off the boundary. When this happens, total

internal reflection occurs.

 Two Requirements for Total Internal Reflection

Total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon that involves the reflection of

all the incident light off the boundary. TIR only takes place when both of the

following two conditions are met:

 the light is in the more dense medium and approaching the less dense

medium.

 the angle of incidence is greater than the so-called critical angle.

Total internal reflection will not take place unless the incident light is traveling

within the more optically dense medium towards the less optically

dense medium. TIR will happen for light traveling from water towards air, but

it will not happen for light traveling from air towards water. TIR would

happen for light traveling from water towards air, but it will not happen for

light traveling from water (n=1.333) towards crown glass (n=1.52). TIR occurs

because the angle of refraction reaches a 90-degree angle before the angle of

incidence reaches a 90-degree angle. The only way for the angle of refraction to

be greater than the angle of incidence is for light to bend away from the normal.

Since light only bends away from the normal when passing from a more dense

medium into a less dense medium, then this would be a necessary condition for

total internal reflection.

Total internal reflection only occurs with large angles of incidence. Question:

How large is large? Answer: larger than the critical angle. As mentioned above,

the critical angle for the water-air boundary is 48.6 degrees. So for angles of

incidence greater than 48.6-degrees, TIR occurs. But 48.6 degrees is the critical

angle only for the water-air boundary. The actual value of the critical angle is

dependent upon the two materials on either side of the boundary. For the crown

glass-air boundary, the critical angle is 41.1 degrees. For the diamond-air

boundary, the critical angle is 24.4 degrees. For the diamond-water boundary,

the critical angle is 33.4 degrees. The critical angle is different for different

media. In the next part of Lesson 3, we will investigate how to determine the

critical angle for any two materials. For now, let's internalize the idea that

TIR can only occur if the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle for

the particular combination of materials.

 Light Piping and Optical Fibers

Total internal reflection is often demonstrated in a Physics class through a

variety of demonstrations. In one such demonstration, a beam of laser light is

directed into a coiled plastic thing-a-ma jig. The plastic served as a light pipe,

directing the light through the coils until it finally exits out the opposite end.

Once the light entered the plastic, it was in the more dense medium. Every time

the light approached the plastic-air boundary, it is approaching at angles

greater than the critical angle. The two conditions necessary for TIR are met,

and all of the incident light at the plastic-air boundary stays internal to the

plastic and undergoes reflection. And with the room lights off, every student

becomes quickly aware of the ancient truth that Physics is better than drugs.

This demonstration helps to illustrate the principle by which optical

fibers work. The use of a long strand of plastic (or other material such as glass)

to pipe light from one end of the medium to the other is the basis for modern day
use of optical fibers. Optical fibers are used in communication systems and

micro-surgeries. Since total internal reflection takes place within the fibers, no

incident energy is ever lost due to the transmission of light across the boundary.

The intensity of the signal remains constant.

Another common Physics demonstration involves the

use of a large jug filled with water and a laser beam.

The jug has a pea-sized hole drilled in its side such

that when the cork is removed from the top of the

jug, water begins to stream out the jug's side. The

beam of laser light is then directed into the jug from the opposite side of the

hole, through the water and into the falling stream. The laser light exits the jug

through the hole but is still in the water. As the stream of water begins to fall

as a projectile along a parabolic path to the ground, the laser light becomes

trapped within the water due to total internal reflection. Being in the more

dense medium (water) and heading towards a boundary with a less dense

medium (air), and being at angles of incidence greater than the critical angle,

the light never leaves the stream of water. In fact, the stream of water acts as a

light pipe to pipe the laser beam along its trajectory. Once more, students
viewing the demonstration are convinced of the fact that Physics is better than

drugs.

Flickr Physics Photo

Laser light shown passing into a hemi-cylindrical dish filled with water. The

light enters the water (at the curved side of the dish) along the normal line; no

bending occurs upon entry. The light continues through the water along a

straight line until it reaches the boundary with air (at the flat side of the dish).

The angle of incidence in the water is 50°. Since the angle of incidence is greater

the air-water critical angle of about 48°, it undergoes total internal reflection

(TIR). Rather than refract out of the dish of water at the flat side, the laser

light is seen reflecting and exiting along the curved side of the dish.
 We Would Like to Suggest ...

Why just read about it and when you could be

interacting with it? Interact - that's exactly what you do when you use one of

The Physics Classroom's Interactives. We would like to suggest that you

combine the reading of this page with the use of our Refraction Interactive.

You can find it in the Physics Interactives section of our website.

The Refraction Interactive provides the learner an interactive enivronment for

exploring the refraction and reflection of light at a boundary between two

materials.
 Check Your Understanding

1. For each combination of media, which light ray (A or B) will undergo total

internal reflection if the incident angle is gradually increased?

 Conclusion

From this you should have gathered:

 Refraction is the bending of light as it enters a new medium.

 The normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to the boundary.

 The angle of incidence is measured from the normal to the incident ray.

 The angle of refraction is measured from the normal to the refracted ray.

 If light enters a more optically dense material, the speed decreases and the

light bends towards the normal.

 If light enters a less optically dense material, the speed increases and the

light bends away from the normal.

 The angle of incidence that results in an angle of refraction of 90 degrees

is call the critical angle.

 If the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle total internal

reflection occurs.