BRAINCAKEApplications of Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection (TIR) reflects all of the light, with no loss by refraction, so it has many uses.
Optical fibres: a fibre has a glass core surrounded by cladding of slightly lower refractive index. Light entering the end strikes the core-cladding boundary at more than the critical angle, and is totally internally reflected again and again along the fibre, even round gentle bends. The cladding protects the core from scratches (which would let light escape) and stops light crossing between fibres touching each other.
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Key terms in this lesson
- critical angle
- The angle of incidence in the optically denser medium at which the angle of refraction is exactly 90 degrees, the onset of total internal reflection.
More in Optics
- Investigating Refractive Index
- Dispersion
- Total Internal Reflection
- Investigating Total Internal Reflection
- Concave Lenses
- Convex Lenses
- The Power of a Lens
- The Power of Twin Lenses
All 21 lessons in Optics · All Edexcel AS-level Physics topics