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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Disappearing pencil
Criteria for total internal reflection
Critical angle and refractive index
Check-point 5
Examples of total internal reflection
Check-point 6
2.2 Total internal reflection
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Disappearing pencil

Insert a pencil into an empty
test tube.
Put the test tube in a container
filled with water,
the pencil disappears!
But it reappears if you add water
into the test tube!
2.5 Disappearing pencil
Video
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
2.2 Total internal reflection
Expt 2b
Total internal reflection
Simulation
2.4 Total internal reflection
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
1 Criteria for total internal reflection

Three rays hitting the inside face of a
semicircular glass block at different angles:
The incident ray splits into two rays:
a reflected ray inside the glass and
a refracted ray in the air.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
1 Criteria for total internal reflection
The incident ray also splits into two rays.
Angle of refraction = 90
The refracted ray just manages to leave
the glass surface.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
1 Criteria for total internal reflection
The incident ray is totally reflected inside
the glass.
There is no refracted ray.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
1 Criteria for total internal reflection
Critical angle (C ) :
angle of incidence at
which the r = 90
the surface acts like a mirror.
total internal reflection
If i > C , the light ray will be totally reflected
inside the glass block.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
1 Criteria for total internal reflection
Note:
Total internal reflection only occurs for an
incident ray in an optically denser medium.
It does not occur when light passes from
an optically less dense medium to an
optically denser medium,
2.7 Total internal reflection in water
Video
no matter how large i is.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
2 Critical angle and refractive index
Angle of incidence in a medium = C when
angle of refraction in air = 90,
n =
1
sin C
or C = sin
1

1
n

n: refractive index of the medium
i.e. n sin C = 1 sin 90
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
2 Critical angle and refractive index
Example 7
Finding the path of a light ray
The following figure shows how the reflected and
refracted rays change:
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
2 Critical angle and refractive index
Video 2.8 Disappearing button
Video 2.9 Magic Cube
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Check-point 5 Q1
Which of the following angles indicates
the critical angle for a glass-air interface?
A B
C
D
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Check-point 5 Q2
Medium Refractive index Critical angle
Water 1.33
Perspex 1.50
Glass 1.50 1.70
Crystal 30.0
Diamond 24.4
48.8
41.8
36.0 41.8
2.00
2.42
Complete the following table.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
a Optical fibres
A light ray can pass along a glass
fibre from one end to the other.
The fibre guides light by a series
of total internal reflections.
Light bounces along the inner walls.
2.10 Simple optical fibre
Video
2.11 Water light guide
Video
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
a Optical fibres
Optical fibres
made of very pure glass
very thin and flexible
used as light guides for doctors to see inside
the human body
used in telecommunications
(flashes of light from a laser
send signals at high speed)
2.12 Endoscope
Video
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
a Optical fibres
Example 8
Optical fibres
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
b Using prisms as mirrors
Multiple reflections between the front and the
back surfaces form fainter images (I
1
, I
3
, )
A plane mirror consists of:
a glass sheet coating
a reflective material
(silvering) on the back
surface
making the main image I
2
less clear.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
b Using prisms as mirrors

Prisms do not form multiple images
used in many optical
instruments for quality
images
e.g. cameras, periscopes
and binoculars.
A prism works like a mirror if light
rays are incident on its inside face
at an angle > C.
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
b Using prisms as mirrors
Prisms can also be found in
headlight reflectors in cars
and cats eyes on the road.
Simulation
2.5 Light maze
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
c Mirages
On a hot day, sometimes the
road at a distance ahead
appears wet and reflective
the reflection of the sky
mirage (commonly
occurs in deserts)
2.13 Mirage in a water tank
Video
2.14 Mirage at the airport
Video
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
c Mirages
Air near the ground: hotter, lower refractive index
light from the sky is gradually refracted more
towards the horizontal.
total internal reflection finally occurs
see the image of the sky when looks down
cool air
warm air
hot air
light from the sky
total internal
reflection
occurs here
image of the sky
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
d Diamonds
large refractive index
easily reflect light which
goes into them
sparkle
facets have to be cut at
carefully chosen angles, or
light may escape through
the bottom or sides
Example 9
Superior mirage
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
Example 10
Diamond and glass jewellery
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
3 Examples of total internal reflection
e Fish-eye view
A fish or a diver underwater
can see everything above the
water surface, but the view is
squeezed into a cone with an
angle ~ 98.
Outside the cone, water
surface looks like a mirror.
Example 11
Diameter of the divers view
2.15 Total internal reflection in a fish tank
Video
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Check-point 6 Q1
Some optical fibres are attached to a torch.
What happens to the fibres when the torch
is switched on?
B A
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
Check-point 6 Q2
A horizontal light ray is incident on a prism.
Which ray diagram is correct?
(Critical angle of the prism = 42)
A
C B
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Book 3A Section 2.2 Total internal reflection
The End

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