Snell's Law — Refraction & TIR

Explore how light bends when crossing between media with different refractive indices, and discover total internal reflection.

Presets

Angle of incidence θ₁ = 35°

Medium 1 refractive index n₁ = 1.00

Medium 2 refractive index n₂ = 1.50

θ₂ (refracted)22.5°

Critical angle—

n₁ / n₂0.667

Snell's law—

Snell's Law: n₁ sin θ₁ = n₂ sin θ₂
Total Internal Reflection occurs when n₁ > n₂ and θ₁ > θ_c, where sin θ_c = n₂/n₁.