You have a layer of glass with a refractive index of 1.5 and the glass is surrounded by air. A light ray shines into the glass and Total Internal Reflection occurs at the glass-air boundary. What is the critical angle?

This question tests your knowledge of Snell's law, Total Internal Reflection (TIR) and the fact that the refractive index of air is 1 (which should be memorised as it is in the exam). The critical angle is the angle at which TIR occurs, which can be calculated with the equation from Snell's law that relates angle of incident and refraction with the two refractive indices. The trick here is to use the angle of refraction as 90 degrees to apply the condition of TIR.

KC
Answered by Kelvin C. Physics tutor

2748 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

You are in a vacuum chamber, and you drop a feather and a bowling ball (initially at rest) from a great height. Which will hit the ground first?


What is the minimum frequency of electromagnetic radiation needed for a photon to ionise an atom of sodium? ( An atom of sodium has an ionisation energy of 5.15 eV.)


Explain the process of annihilation?


An alpha particle is accelerated with 5MeV of kinetic energy towards the nucleus of a gold atom with atomic number 79. What is the distance of closest approach that is reached by the alpha particle?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences