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Total Internal Reflection

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Question #2cd1b

Snell's Law can be used to calculate the critical angle for total internal reflection.

$n_{1} {sin θ}_{1} = n_{2} {sin θ}_{2}$ $n_1 sin theta_1 = n_2 sin theta_2$

where $n_{1}$ $n_1$ is the index of refraction of the incident substance
$θ_{1}$ $theta_1$ is the unknown critical angle
$n_{2}$ $n_2$ is the index of refraction of the refracting substance
$θ_{2}$ $theta_2$ is the angle of refraction ( $θ_{2} = 90^{o}$ $theta_2 = 90^o$ in a critical angle question)

Isolate $θ_{1}$ $theta_1$ by dividing both sides by $n_{1}$ $n_1$

Then once you have solved for ${sin θ}_{1}$ $sin theta_1$ , remember to take the inverse sine to find the angle of incidence.

Biology_geek · 4 · Apr 19 2014
Question #3845f

This question was expertly answered by Jeff C. at http://socratic.org/questions/how-does-total-internal-reflection-of-light-[work](http://socratic.org/physics/work-and-energy/work)

Biology_geek · · Apr 19 2014

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