total internal reflection

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What happens during total internal reflection of light?

Diagram of total internal reflection: a light source sends ray A out through the surface, ray B along the surface at the critical angle theta, and ray C reflected back underneath the surface.

$Figure 7: The refraction and reflection of light. (Left) When light strikes the boundary between glass and air at less than the critical angle (θc), it is refracted and partially reflected; (centre) when it meets the boundary at the critical angle, it is refracted parallel to the boundary; (right) when it meets the boundary at more than the critical angle, it is reflected totally.$

total internal reflection: References & Edit History

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Article History

Description	Contributor	Date
Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 21, 2025
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy.	Aakanksha Gaur	Aug 26, 2024
Add new Web site: Academia - Total internal reflection for illumination and displays.	Gloria Lotha	Jun 10, 2024
Add new Web site: The University of Texas at Austin - Total Internal Reflection.	Gloria Lotha	Feb 02, 2024
Add new Web site: BCcampus Publishing - Total Internal Reflection.	Gloria Lotha	Dec 14, 2023
Add new Web site: The Physics Classroom - Total Internal Reflection.	Gloria Lotha	Jan 06, 2023
Add new Web site: OpenStax - University Physics Volume 3 - Total Internal Reflection.	Emily Rodriguez	Oct 23, 2022
Corrected display issue.	Erik Gregersen	Jul 21, 2020
Media added.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Mar 24, 2020
Sentence about rainbows and ice halos as examples of total internal reflection removed.	Erik Gregersen Jeff Jo	Jan 23, 2015
Media added.	Amy Tikkanen	Jan 21, 2011
Added new Web site: ThinkQuest - Total Internal Reflection.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 07, 2009
Added new Web site: Timbercon - Total Internal Reflection.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 07, 2009
Added new Web site: Hyperphysics - Total Internal Reflection.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 07, 2009
Added new Web site: The Physics Classroom Tutorial - Total Internal Reflection.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 07, 2009
Added new Web site: The University of Virginia - Total Internal Reflection.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 07, 2009
Added new Web site: The Physics Classroom - Total Internal Reflection - The Critical Angle.	Gloria Lotha	Oct 14, 2007
Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998