Bending, and the angle where light stops escaping
n₁ sinθ₁ = n₂ sinθ₂ · angles measured from the normal · v = c / n
Choose the two media and the angle
Top (n₁)
Bottom (n₂)
Ray diagram
Snell's law, read off the diagram
| n₁ sinθ₁ | |
| Refracted angle θ₂ | |
| Critical angle θc = sin−1(n₂/n₁) | |
| Speed in top / bottom (×108 m s−1) | |
Choose the media, then change the angle.
- Into a slower medium: toward the normal
- Found the critical angle
- No total internal reflection into a denser medium