total internal reflection (Totalreflektion)

At the transition from one medium to another with different refraction indices the light is never refracted completely, but part of it is reflected.
At the transition from an optically more dense medium with reflection value n₁ to an optically thinner medium with reflection value n₂ (n₁ > n₂) the total reflection starts with the total reflection angle and 100% of the incident light is reflected at the interface. The total reflection angle α is measured against the normal to the interface as follows:



opsira GmbH develops optical fibre and lens solutions based on the total reflection for all kinds of illumination and sensor applications.

You will find further information on the technical application of the total reflection here.


q.v.: refraction, refraction index, optical fibre, TIR total internal reflection