A ray of light travels across a liquid-to-glass interface. If the indices of refraction for the liquid and glass are, respectively, 1.75 and 1.52, what is the critical angle at this interface?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The critical angle is the angle of incidence at which the refracted ray is parallel to the interface. It is given by the equation sin(critical angle) = n2/n1, where n1 is the index of refraction of the first medium and n2 is the index of refraction of the second medium. In this case, n1 = 1.75 and n2 = 1.52, so the critical angle is sin(critical angle) = 1.52/1.75 = 0.87. The critical angle is therefore 60.3°.

A Ray of Light Travels Across a Liquid-To-Glass Interface