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Question
What is total internal reflection and mirage?
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Solution
Two Requirements for Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon that involves the reflection of all the incident light at the interface of two media. TIR only takes place when both of the following two conditions are met:
1. The light is in the more dense medium and approaching the less dense medium.
2. The angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.
What is a mirage?
Mirage happens due to total internal reflection of light. The figure below illustrates the mechanism of a mirage being formed in a desert. On a hot sunny day, the air near the surface is hotter and rarer than the air above it. So when light from a distant object goes towards earth, it is actually going from a denser to rarer medium. So it gets reflected back if the angle of incidence is too steep and we happen to observe mirage.
Total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon that involves the reflection of all the incident light at the interface of two media. TIR only takes place when both of the following two conditions are met:
1. The light is in the more dense medium and approaching the less dense medium.
2. The angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.
What is a mirage?
Mirage happens due to total internal reflection of light. The figure below illustrates the mechanism of a mirage being formed in a desert. On a hot sunny day, the air near the surface is hotter and rarer than the air above it. So when light from a distant object goes towards earth, it is actually going from a denser to rarer medium. So it gets reflected back if the angle of incidence is too steep and we happen to observe mirage.
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