Reflection and Total Internal Reflection

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Description

We are most familiar with the reflection of light waves – when looking at ourselves in the mirror, for example – but all types of waves can be reflected when they arrive at a boundary between one material and another.  Total internal reflection, meanwhile, can occur when light is travelling towards a medium (material) in which it travels more quickly, and is what allows endoscopes, and fibre-optic cables to work.

Key Words

law of reflection, angle of incidence, angle of reflection, critical angle, absorb, total internal reflection, transmit, endoscope, reflect, fibre-optic, wave, ray diagram, normal, absorption, surface, transmission, reflection, boundary, reflected, interface