Experimental ascertainment of refraction and total reflection

Jose Ignacio Negrete1, Keiner Aparicio2, Luis Barazartee Guerrero3, Yustin del Toro4.
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Jose Ignacio Negrete Tamayo. Física, Universidad de Córdoba.
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Keiner Aparicio. Física, Universidad de Córdoba.
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Luis Barazarte Guerrero. Física, Universidad de Córdoba.
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Yustin David del Toro. Física, Universidad de Córdoba.

Informe #4. Fecha entrega de informe: 08/04/25.

Abstract
This article summarizes the results of two laboratory experiments aimed at exploring the optical phenomena of refraction
and total internal reflection of light. The main objectives were to experimentally verify Snell’s law, determine the refractive
index of transparent materials, and identify the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs. In the first experi -
ment, light was directed through a semicircular acrylic block, and the angles of incidence and refraction were measured for
different orientations. This allowed the experimental determination of the refractive index, which was consistent with va -
lues for common transparent materials. The second experiment focused on the phenomenon of total internal reflection. By
increasing the incidence angle beyond the critical angle, it was observed that the light beam remained confined within the
denser medium, as predicted by theory. The results confirmed the expected behavior: the light path followed Snell’s law in
all refractive cases and underwent complete internal reflection under appropriate conditions. These findings match those
reported in prior studies and emphasize the reliability of geometric optics principles. The implications of this work highli-
ght the practical importance of understanding light propagation for applications in fiber optics and other optical systems.

Keywords: refraction, total internal reflection, Snell’s law, refractive index, light.

1. Introduction c
n=
The behavior of a narrow light beam is studied when passing the v
light from glass to air for angles of incidence greater or equal than (1)
35° in addition to analyzing its path when passing through a glass
plate with parallel flat faces in order to estimate the optical displa-
2.3. Snell’s Law.
cement as a function of the angle of incidence for which a light This law describes how light rays change their direction when
box, diaphragm, optical body, trapezoidal, power supply and opti- they travel from one medium to another with different
cal disk were used. refractive indices. Expressde mathematically as:

2. Related theory n1 sin(α )=n2 sin(β )

(2)
2.1. Refraction.
In which n1 y n2 are the incident and refractive indices and
Refraction is the bending of light (it also happens with sound,
water and other waves) as it passes from
α and β , the incident and refractive angles.
one transparent substance into another. 2.4. Reflection law.
2.2. Refraction index. The law of reflection is a fundamental principle of optics that
The index of refraction, also known as the refractive index, is states that the angle of incidence θi equals the angle of
a dimensionless number that describes how light propagates reflection θr , so:
through a medium compared to its speed in a vacuum. It is
defined as the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum (c) to the θi=θr (3)
speed of light in a given medium (v):
1
3. Experimental aspects
The optical disc was placed on the table, and the semicircular
optical body (matte surface facing down) was aligned with the
vertical line of the disc. The light box was positioned in front of
the optical body, adjusting the light beam to strike exactly in the
center of the disc (base of the normal). This experimental setup is
shown on the left side of Figure 2.1. The angle of incidence (α)
was varied from 35° to 50°, recording the angles of refraction (β)
and reflection, as well as qualitative observations of beam beha-
vior.

For the second experimental setup, shown on the right side of

Figure 2.1, the light box was adjusted so that the beam struck first
at 0° (optical axis) and then at 45°, marking the incoming and
outgoing paths with crosses. To measure the optical shift (v), the
optical disc was used and the beam deflection was recorded for Figure 4.1. Observations setup 1.
incidence angles of 15°, 30°, 45° and 60°.
At this critical angle θc , the refracted light beam emerges just
along the boundary surface (90° angle of refraction). No light is
transmitted to the air beyond this point, and internal reflection
begins to dominate.
For angles greater than the critical angle, total internal reflection
occurs. The light beam does not pass through the boundary
surface, but is completely reflected within the glass, following the
law of reflection (3).
Figure. 2.1. Experimental setups. (Left) Setup 1. (Right) Setup 2. According to observations from experiments carried out in the
laboratory, light must travel from a more optically dense medium
to a less dense one (that is, ni > nt ), for the case study this condi-
4. Results and Analysis
tion is met, where n vidrio >naire .

From the same setup, the data is given in Table 4.1. Furthermore, for the phenomenon to occur, the angle of incidence
must be equal to or greater than the critical angle ( θi ≥θ c), which
Table 4.1. Observations from setup 1. depends on the refractive indices of the media. In this case study,
Angle of incidence 35° 40° 45° 50° θc ≈ 42 °.
Angle of refraction 57° 72° 90° 90°
This phenomenon is not just a laboratory experiment; it occurs in
Angle of reflection 34° 40° 45° 50° everyday life. The most common example is the "wet road" pheno-
menon. This occurs because the air near the asphalt heats up more
From laboratory observations, based on the data recorded in Table than the surrounding air, creating layers with different refractive
4.1, it can be inferred that for angles of 35° and 40°, the angles of indices. When light passes from cooler (denser) layers of air to
reflection and refraction were recorded according to the law of warmer (less dense) layers, it can reach the critical angle and be
reflection (3) and Snell's law (2). However, at angles of 45° and completely reflected. This produces a mirage that simulates the
50°, no refracted ray was observed, and the light beam was reflection of the sky on a "wet" surface. This phenomenon is ex-
completely reflected. ploited in various devices, such as optical fibers, optical prisms,
and sensors.
When the angle of incidence is less than 42°, the light beam passes
through the glass/air boundary surface and refracts away from the
This optical phenomenon is explained by the law of refraction and
normal (because air is less optically dense than glass). The angle
of refraction is greater than the angle of incidence, and some of the the reversibility of the light path. When ni > nt (e.g. glass to air),
light may also be partially reflected by the surface. These if for θi ≥θ c (where θt =90 ° ), sin θt exceeds 1, which is impo-
observations are respectively shown in Figure 4.1. ssible. Therefore, all the light is reflected. The reversibility of the
path implies that, if light tried to travel from air to glass under
these conditions, it could not be refracted, confirming total reflec-
tion.

2
For experimental setup 2, the following incident and refracted
angle data were obtained:

Table 4.2. Observations from setup 2.

Angle of incidence 35° 40° 45° 50°
Optic displacement 1° 3° 6° 9°

From observing the path of the light beam on the glass plate with
parallel flat faces, it is clear that when the light beam hits the
surface perpendicularly (along the normal), no deviation occurs;
the beam passes through the plate without changing direction
(although it may experience a slight parallel displacement due to
the thickness of the glass and/or imperfections in the material).

However, for an oblique angle of incidence, the beam refracts

upon entering the glass (approaching the normal, since Figure 4.2. Graph of υ as a function of θi . Graphed in Python

( )
n vidrio >naire ) and then refracts again upon exiting the glass (away −1 ni
from the normal). The emerging beam is parallel to the incident from the function υ=θi −sin sin θi .
beam, but displaced laterally (by an optical shift υ ), as shown in
nt
Figure 4.1.
The optical phenomena involved and the analysis performed here
are ubiquitous in everyday life, for example, sunlight passing
through a window. Sunlight is refracted when passing through a
window; however, since the rays typically strike at small angles
(close to the normal), the shift is minimal and barely perceptible.
Under oblique conditions (e.g., at sunset), the effect is more noti-
ceable, as observed in the experiment. This optical shift under
oblique conditions can be observed by placing an object behind the
glass (e.g., a ruler) and observing its position from an oblique
angle. Thus, by comparing the apparent position of the object
through the glass with its actual position (without glass), the diffe-
rence reveals the optical shift.

Figure 4.2. Optic displacement observed.

5. Conclusions
From the data recorded in Table 4.2. it can be inferred that, for
increasing angles of the angle of incidence θi , the values of devia- Based on observations and analyses carried out in the laboratory, it
tion of the refracted optical beam are greater, that is, there is grea- is concluded that light, when passing from a denser to a less dense
ter optical displacement. In the laboratory, the angles of refraction medium, behaves according to Snell's laws and the laws of reflec-
were measured and then the optical displacement was calculated tion. In particular, it was experimentally verified that for angles of
for values of θi between 35° and 50°. Because of this, the results incidence smaller than the critical angle, light is refracted, and
some of it may also be partially reflected. However, when the
can easily be misinterpreted and it can be considered that the
critical angle is exceeded, the phenomenon of total internal reflec-
optical displacement is directly proportional to θi . tion occurs, where the light beam is not transmitted to the second
medium but is completely reflected within the first.
As can be seen in Figure 4.2, the relationship is not linear, althou-
gh this behavior can be approximated in this way for the angles
This behavior confirms the principles of geometric optics and
used in the laboratory. It is also observed that the displacement
highlights the importance of the refractive index as a determining
increases more rapidly for large angles.
factor in light propagation. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that
the direction of the light beam changes when passing through a
glass plate with parallel faces, generating an optical shift that
increases with the angle of incidence. Although this shift is not
strictly linear, it can be approximated as such within the angular
range studied, becoming more evident at larger angles.

Bibliography

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