Total internal reflection will not occur when light travels from

Assessment: JAMB UTME - Physics - 2013 Subject: Physics

Question 1 Report

Total internal reflection will not occur when light travels from
Answer Details
Total internal reflection occurs when a light ray travels from a medium with a higher refractive index to a medium with a lower refractive index at an angle greater than the critical angle. At the interface between the two media, the light ray is refracted in a way that it bends away from the normal. If the angle of incidence is increased to a critical angle, the refracted angle becomes 90 degrees, and the light ray is reflected back into the first medium at the same angle. In the case of the options given, total internal reflection will not occur when light travels from water to air or glass to air because air has a lower refractive index than both water and glass, so the angle of incidence would never be greater than the critical angle. However, total internal reflection can occur when light travels from water into glass or glass into water because glass has a higher refractive index than water. Therefore, if the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, total internal reflection will occur.

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