General Science • PhysicsHard
A ray of light traveling inside a denser optical medium of refractive index 2 strikes the boundary separating it from a rarer medium at an angle of incidence equal to 45 degrees. What will happen to this ray of light?
A. It will pass straight through the boundary without any deviation
B. It will undergo total internal reflection back into the denser medium✓ Correct Answer
C. It will refract into the rarer medium with an angle of refraction equal to 90 degrees
D. It will split into polarized components through double refraction
💡 Solution & Explanation
The critical angle for a medium of refractive index 2 surrounded by air is calculated as the inverse sine of 0.5, which is 30 degrees. Since the angle of incidence of 45 degrees exceeds this critical angle of 30 degrees, total internal reflection occurs. Total internal reflection forms the working basis of optical fiber communication.
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