Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Define the critical angle for a given pair of media and total internal reflection. Obtain the relation between the critical angle and refractive index of the medium.
Advertisements
Solution
The angle of incidence corresponding to an angle of refraction of 90° is called the critical angle for the given pair of media. If the angle of incidence of light, when travelling from a denser medium to a rarer medium, is greater than the critical angle then total internal reflection takes place.

Let the angle of incidence i and C be the critical angle C.
Let the angle of refraction r = 90°.
The refractive index of the rarer medium is μa.
The refractive index of the denser medium is μb.
Applying Snell's law,
`(sini)/(sinr) = mu_a/mu_b`
μb sinC = μa sin90° ....[∵ i = C and r = 90°]
`mu_a/mu_b = 1/(sinC)`
Thus, we arrive at a formula expressing the critical angle and refractive index relation:
`""_amu_b = 1/(sinC)`
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
A slide projector has to project a 35 mm slide (35 mm × 23 mm) on a 2 m × 2 m screen at a distance of 10 m from the lens. What should be the focal length of the lens in the projector?
A converging lens of focal length 15 cm and a converging mirror of focal length 10 cm are placed 50 cm apart with common principal axis. A point source is placed in between the lens and the mirror at a distance of 40 cm from the lens. Find the locations of the two images formed.
A 5 mm high pin is placed at a distance of 15 cm from a convex lens of focal length 10 cm. A second lens of focal length 5 cm is placed 40 cm from the first lens and 55 cm from the pin. Find (a) the position of the final image, (b) its nature and (c) its size.
A point object is placed at a distance of 15 cm from a convex lens. The image is formed on the other side at a distance of 30 cm from the lens. When a concave lens is placed in contact with the convex lens, the image shifts away further by 30 cm. Calculate the focal lengths of the two lenses.
Region I and II are separated by a spherical surface of a radius of 25 cm. An object is kept in the region I at a distance of 40 cm from the surface. The distance of the image from the surface is ______.
Which of the following correctly states the relation for refraction at a spherical surface?
For a real object placed to the left of a spherical refracting surface, the object distance u is:
When light goes from a rarer to a denser medium at a spherical surface, the refracted ray:
Which ray is considered in the first step of the derivation for refraction at a spherical surface?
Which effect is common for image shift in refraction at a plane surface?
