Total Internal Reflection

Try this as a virtual experiment at http://www.reading.ac.uk/virtualexperiments/ves/tir.html

You will need:

Internet access

Preparation
You will have already seen that when light moves from a dense material (eg glass) into something less dense (eg air), it speeds up and bends away from the normal. In this activity you will pay particular attention to what happens as we make the angle of the light beam greater.

Semicircular block
The semicircular prism shown in the interactive has a beam of red light being shone into it so that it hits the straight side of the prism at its centre. The beam of light can be moved either left or right using the << or >> buttons in each bottom corner. You can move the protractor around by clicking and dragging. Set up the interactive by moving the protractor so that it is positioned as shown here (with the line across the flat end of the protractor level with the flat side of the semicircular prism.

Observe what happens as you gradually move the beam of light so that the ray meets the straight side at different angles, by travelling down the 60 line, then the 50 line, etc. You should notice that, while most of the light comes out of the block and is refracted, but that some light is reflected back into the block. Depending on the angle, it might all be reflected. This last situation is called Total Internal Reflection! When the ray just manages to emerge at 90 to the normal, the angle between the ray and the normal inside the block is called the critical angle, C.

Results: Choose three different situations:

1. quite a lot of light emerges 2. all the light is internally reflected 3. a critical point where a beam just splits into reflected and refracted beams (see image for what I mean).

In each case:
Fill in the table underneath Situation 1. quite a lot of light emerges 2. all the light is internally reflected 3. a critical point where a beam just splits into reflected and refracted beams Angle of Incidence (i) Angle of Reflection (R) Angle of Refraction (r)

Questions

Name the angles X, Y and Z

If X is gradually increased, what happens to the sizes of Y and Z? What happens to the light?

Suggested Answers
1 2 X = angle of incidence. Y= angle of reflection. Z = angle of refraction. As X increases, Y and Z also increase. Once Z reaches 90 (at which point X and Y will still be less than 90), then the beam is no longer split but is totally internally reflected. You may observe colours in the beam as 90 is reached.