Reflection
Light ray strikes plane (eg. Mirror) and returns to originating source.
Law of reflection
Angle of incidence=angle of reflection
Refraction
Light ray strikes plane and passes through the medium, altering ray speed
Normal
Line perpendicular to surface
Direction of refracted light in a denser medium
Towards the normal
Direction of refracted light in a less dense medium
Away from the normal
Total internal reflection (TIR)
When a refracted ray should be bigger than 90° it is reflected inside the more dense medium following the law of reflection
Critical angle
The minimum angle at which internal reflection takes place- happens when ray changes from just refracting to TIR
Uses of total internal reflection
Endoscope
Optical fibre broadband internet
Decorative fibre lights
Equation linking critical angle and ref reactive index
n=1/sinC