The phenomenon of total internal reflection can occur when light travels from:
A denser medium to a rarer medium at an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle.
A denser medium to a rarer medium at an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle. is correct.
Total internal reflection occurs when two conditions are met together: (i) light travels from an optically denser medium to an optically rarer medium (for example from glass or water into air), and (ii) the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle for that pair of media.
When the angle of incidence equals the critical angle, the refracted ray grazes the surface at \(90^\circ\); beyond it, no refraction is possible and all the light is reflected back into the denser medium. This is the principle behind optical fibres, the sparkle of diamonds and mirages.
Light going from a rarer to a denser medium bends towards the normal and can never be totally internally reflected, and from denser to rarer at just any angle it partly refracts. So only the denser-to-rarer case beyond the critical angle works.
Similar Questions
Due to which scientific phenomenon does a stick, when partly immersed in water, appears to be bent?
Convex mirror is used as:
The defect in image formation for the wandering of the focus on the principal axis of a lens is called ________.
The phenomenon of interference in light waves is a direct consequence of:
When a ray of light is passed through a prism, it splits into his constituent colours. This phenomenon is called:
Important Questions from Optics
Who was the first one to use a glass prism to obtain the spectrum of sunlight?
Twinkling of stars is due to:
In which a convex mirror is used?
A. Rear View mirrors in vehicles
B. Glass windows
C. Makeup Mirror
D. Kaleidoscope
An object is placed 10 cm in front of a lens. The image formed is real, inverted and of same size as the object. What is the focal length and nature of the lens?
The power of a lens is -2.5 D. The type of lens and its focal length are respectively:
