LOGO

ORGANIZATION NAME

"PHYSICS PROJECT "

ADAM EVE
CLASS XX X
XX
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project is titled "PHYSICS PROJECT".

This project is submitted by "ADAM EVE"
of "XYZ SCHOOL, ADDRESS" in
fulfillment of the requirements for XYZ EXAM. For the award
of XYZ COURSE/CERTIFICATION/DEGREE. This original research
work was carried out by ADAM under my supervision and
guidance in the academic year 20XX-20XX. Based on the
declaration made by him, I recommend a report for evaluation.

This project has not been submitted to any other institution for
the award of a XYZ COURSE/CERTIFICATION/DEGREE.

_______________ _______________
(Examiner’s Signature) (Teacher’s Signature)
 AKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to express my special gratitude to

my Physics teacher Ms.PETER for his guidance and
support in completing my project.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to our principal
Mr.Senior Peter for providing me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project.
 CONTENTS
TABLE OF
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
1 ACTION PLAN

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

2 INTRODUCTION

OPTICAL DESCRIPTION
3 INFORMANTION

CRITICAL ANGLE
4 PHASE SHIFT UPON T.I.R

T.I.R IN DAIMOND
5 EXPERIMENT

APPLICATIONS OF T.I.R
6 USES AND EXAMPLES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
10 LAST PAGE
 ACTION PLAN

Understanding the topic.

Prepare the list of resources.
Collect the data.
Compilation of research.
Completion of the project.
Project submission.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

While doing research on any topic, the purpose of its

selection is very important. My topic for research is
titled "TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION".I selected this
project as a part of my studies but my foremost wish was
to learn something new by studying research materials
and journals and doing my own research based on the
various application of total internal reflection.
 OCTOBER 2020, ISSUE 18
JANUARY 2023 | CBSE PHYSICS PRACTICAL

T H E S T Y L I S T A
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
COLLECTIVE
"A PHYSICIST IS JUST AN ATOMS WAY OF LOOKING AT ITSELF"
T H E U L T I M A T E F A S H I O N G U I D E F O R A S O P H I S T I C A T E D Niels
S T Y Bohr
LE

HISTORY 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 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
epler total internal reflectance occurs. When a light beam crosses a boundary
Johannes K
between materials with different kinds of refractive indices, the light beam
In 1611, Johannes Kepler, a will be partially refracted at the boundary surface, and partially reflected.
German mathematician, and
However, if the angle of incidence is greater (i.e. the ray is closer to being
astronomer discovered the
phenomenon of total internal parallel to the boundary) than the critical angle – the angle of incidence at
reflection ten years before which light is refracted such that it travels along the boundary – then the
Willebrord Snell derived his
famous formula for the refraction light will stop crossing the boundary altogether and instead be reflected
of light. internally.
REFLECTION This can only occur when light travels from a medium with a higher
IS THE PHENOMENON OF
BENDING OF LIGHT WHEN IT [n1=higher refractive index] to a medium with a higher [n1=higher
COMES FROM ONE MEDIUM refractive index] to one with a lower refractive index [n2=lower
TO ANOTHER MEDIUM IS
CALLED REFRACTION. refractive index].
For example, it will occur when passing from glass to air, but not
REFRACTION
IS THE PHENOMENON IN when passing from air to glass.
WHICH A RAY COMES FROM
ONE MEDIUM AND BENDING
OF THAT RAY IN THE SAME
MEDIUM I.E. TOTAL
INTERNAL REFLECTION
TAKES PLACE CALLED
REFLECTION.

"A SHIP IS ALWAYS SAFE AT SHORE BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT ITS BUILD FOR"
Albert Einstein

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 center 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 θC the critical
angle measurement which is caused by the sun or a light source (measured normally to the
surface)
If θ < θC, the ray will split. Some of the rays will reflect off the boundary, and some will
refract as it passes through. This is not a 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 fibers 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 concerning the
normal at the refractive boundary. Consider a light ray passing from the
Fun Facts glass into the air. The light emanating from the interface is bent
TOUCH PHONES DON’T towards the glass. When the incident angle is increased sufficiently, the
DETECT CERTAIN transmitted angle (in the air) reaches 90 degrees. It is at this point no
MATERIALS BECAUSE OF
ELECTRICAL CHARGE. light is transmitted into the air. The critical angle is given by Snell's law :
A TYPICAL SMARTPHONE
WOULD NOT DETECT
TOUCHES FROM
n1/n2 = sin θ2/sin θ1
FINGERNAILS, RUBBER,
OR CERTAIN FABRICS
Let us consider two different media. The critical angle is that of θc which
BECAUSE THEY LACK THE
IONS NEEDED FOR THE gives a value of exactly 90 degrees. If these values are substituted in the
INTERACTION. Snell’s Law equation, we will get a generic equation that will be used to
predict the critical angle.
Therefore,
The critical angle = The inverse function of the sine of (refraction index/
incident index)
The equation is :
θc=sin−1(nr/ni)

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 (colors), 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.
 Fun Facts TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
THE SUN DOESN’T CHANGE IN DIAMOND
COLOR DURING SUNSET.
WE ONLY SEE IT THAT WAY From glass to air the critical angle is about 42o but it varies from one
BECAUSE THE SUN’S
WAVELENGTHS REACT WITH
medium to another. The material that gives the smallest critical
THE DIFFERENCE IN THE angle is a diamond. That is why they sparkle so much! Rays of light
ATMOSPHERE.
can easily be made to 'bounce around inside them' by careful cutting
WATER SLOWS DOWN
of the stone and the refraction at the surfaces splits the light into a
LIGHT. EACH WATER
MOLECULE HAS INDIVIDUAL spectrum of colors! Relatively speaking, the critical angle of 24.4o for
SURFACE TENSION, WHICH
the diamond-air boundary is extremely small. This property of the
DISTORTS THE IMAGE YOU
SEE. THIS IS WHY YOUR diamond-air boundary plays an important role in the brilliance of a
FACE WOULD LOOK
CARTOONISH BEHIND A
diamond gemstone. Having a small critical angle, light tends to
GLASS OF WATER. become "trapped" inside of a diamond once it enters. Most rays
TIME GOES FASTER AT THE approach the diamond at angles of incidence greater than the critical
TOP OF THE BUILDING THAN angle (as it is so small) so a light ray will typically undergo TIR several
AT THE BOTTOM.
ACCORDING TO EINSTEIN’S times before finally refracting out of the diamond. This gives the
THEORY OF RELATIVITY, THE diamond a tendency to sparkle. The effect can be enhanced by cutting
FARTHER AN OBJECT IS
FROM THE EARTH’S a diamond gemstone with a 'strategically planned shape. The diagram
SURFACE, THE FASTER TIME
to the left depicts the total internal reflection within a diamond
PASSES.
gemstone with a 'strategic' and a 'non-strategic' cut.
 APPLICATIONS OF TOTAL INTERNAL
REFLECTION
TOTAL REFLECTION PRISM
To deviate a ray of light through 90o and 180o.
A right-angled isosceles prism can be used to cause total internal reflection. In such a right-angled prism
when a ray of light is incident normally to its face AB, it passes into the prism as incidence is 45o. But for
glass (m = 1.5), the value of the critical angle is about 41.8o. Since the value of the incident angle is
greater than the critical angle for glass, the ray of the right suffers total internal reflection. As a result, it
gets incident on the force AC at 90o and comes out of the prism as such. It follows that the path of the
ray of right was been deviated by the prism through 90o.
The path of a ray undergoing a deviation of 90o due to one internal reflection but in the same way and
by the same process due to two internal reflections, a ray can deviate through 180o. This arrangement is
used in prism binoculars.
Advantages of Totally Reflecting Prism over the Silvered Plane Mirror.
A reflecting prism does not require any silvering.
A silvered plane mirror always absorbs some light. In a good mirror, the reflection of light is about
90-95%. However, in a reflecting prism, almost 100% reflection is secured.
Due to imperfect and non-uniform silvering of the mirror, the image obtained with a mirror is often
not of good quality.

MIRAGE
It is an optical illusion observed in the desert on a hot day. An object such as a tree is observed inverted
and the observer gets the impression that there is a pool of water. This phenomenon is known as a
mirage. Due to intense heat, the surface of the earth becomes quite hot and the temperature of the air
near the surface of the earth is max. The temp of the other layers of the air goes on decreasing as one
goes up. Dimity, as well as the refractive index of air, increases slightly for higher layers. Thus a ray of
light traveling from point O of a tree passes through the air with a gradually decreasing refractive index
and is therefore refracted more and more away from the normal and accordingly the angle of incidence
goes on increasing. At a layer, when the angle of incidence becomes greater than the critical angle, total
internal reflection takes place. Then the ray of light starts traversing layers of increasing refractive index
and goes on bending more and more towards the normal. Ultimately, when the ray reaches the eye of
the observer, it appears to be coming from point I. Hence the inverted image of the tree produces the
impression of reflection from a pool of water.
 BRILLIANCE OF DIAMONDS AND OTHER PRECIOUS STONES
Diamond shines very brightly because it has a very high refractive index and very low critical angle i.e. =
2.47 & C = 230. Due to a low critical angle, a diamond is cut to have a large number of faces, such that a
ray of light entering it from one face undergoes repeated total internal reflections from other faces. As a
result, the faces through which the light emerges, shine very brilliantly.

OPTICAL FIBRES
In 1870, John Tyndall, a British physicist demonstrated that light could be made to follow the curved
path along a thin stream of water coming out of a water tank. This effect was made use of illuminated
fountains. The light follows a curved path it suffers a series of total internal reflections.
Optical fibers commit thousands of strands of a very fine quality glass or quartz with a refractive index
of about 1.7 or so. The thickness of a strand is about 10-6 cm. The strands are coated with a layer of
some material of a lower refractive index (m=1.5). When light is incident at a small angle at our end, it
gets refracted into strands and gets incident on the interface of the fibers and the coating. The angle of
incidence is greater than the critical angle, and the ray of light undergoes total internal reflections. Each
fiber act as a pipe and such a bundle of fibers can be used to convey images along paths of any shape.
The optical fiber does not bend light. Instead, the light follows the zin-zag path through the fibers.

LOOMING
It is an optical illusion observed in cold countries. In which observers get the impression that the object
is placed in the air.

"There was no 'before' the beginning of our universe, because once upon a time
there was no time." John D. Barrow

USES OF TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

Optical fibers are used in the field of communication and computers.
The optical fibers are used for making a medical investigation.
optical fiber sensors have been used to measure temperature and pressure.
The optical is used for transmitting optical signals and two-dimensional pictures.
The optical fiber in the form of photometric sensors is used for measuring the blood flow in the heart.
The optical fiber in the form of refracting meters is used to determine the refractive indices of liquids.
Optical fiber is used in telephone and other transmitting cables.
Optical fiber is used in the transmission and reception of electrical signals by converting them first
into a light signal.
 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 mirror-like.
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 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 a different phenomenon from reflection and refraction. Reflection occurs when the light goes
back into the 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
MODERN’S ABC OF PHYSICS.
PRADEEP’S FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS.
YOUTUBE
CBSE PHYSICS NCERT CLASS 12
WWW.GOOGLE.COM/IMAGES
WIKIPEDIA.COM
FACTS.NET
CANVA