Such a thick layer can be observed when the liquid is held within a transparent container and the observer is looking at the top most portion of the liquid from the sides of the transparent container.

In TIRF microscopy, fluorescent molecules are in a sample in an aqueous environment that is near a solid with a high refractive index, usually a glass coverslip. At what is called the critical angle, ...

However, if this would bring the ray out at more than 90° from the normal, the refraction is not possible. In this situation, the ray is reflected inside the more dense medium, following the law of ...

Abstract: The treatment of total internal reflection of electromagnetic pulses at the sharp boundary of two homogeneous half-spaces is extended to cover the case of total internal reflection in a ...

The conditions for total internal reflection Total internal reflection and optical fibres Long distance communication Medical uses of optical fibres The diagram below shows the light refracting from ...

When a ray of light that is travelling through a piece of glass strikes the interface between the glass and the air, it changes direction according to Snell’s law. If the angle of incidence is less ...

Cool operator: the Saharan silver ant Cataglyphis bombycina. (Courtesy: P Landmann) A species of desert-dwelling ant is able to tolerate temperatures exceeding 50 °C because its body hairs act like ...