General Science • PhysicsHard
What is the physical significance of the critical angle in total internal reflection, and under what specific optical condition does it occur?
A. It is the angle of incidence in an optically rarer medium for which the angle of refraction in the denser medium becomes 90 degrees.
B. It is the angle of incidence in an optically denser medium for which the angle of refraction in the rarer medium becomes exactly 90 degrees.✓ Correct Answer
C. It is the angle at which unpolarized light becomes completely polarized upon reflection from a transparent dielectric surface.
D. It is the minimum angle of deviation produced by a prism when the angle of incidence equals the angle of emergence.
💡 Solution & Explanation
The critical angle is defined as the angle of incidence in a denser medium where the refracted ray grazes the boundary surface in the rarer medium, forming a 90-degree angle of refraction. When the angle of incidence exceeds this threshold value, light cannot cross the boundary and reflects entirely back into the denser medium. Snell law mathematically relates the critical angle to the refractive indices of the two participating media.
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