COURSE PROJECT

Subject:Engineering Physics
SUBMITED BY: BONTHU MEGHANA (21071A0407)

BURUGU RUTHWIK (21071A0408)

CHELLI VANITHA (21071A0409)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
We take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude and deep regards to
our mentor Dr. L. Srinivasa Rao, Assistant Professor (physics) for his exemplary
guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this
project. The help and guidance given by him time to time shall carry us a long
way in the journey of life on which we are about to embark.
CONTENT:
• Title
• Objective
• Important Terms
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Applications
• References

TITLE: PRINCIPLE OF FORMATION OF MIRAGES AND

SPARKLING OF DIAMONDS

OBJECTIVE:
 • To learn the working principle of formation of mirages
• To learn the working principle of sparkling of diamonds.

IMPORTANT TERMS:
1. REFRACTION:
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its
speed. This is the most commonly observed when a wave passes from one
medium to another. For example, when sound wave passes from one medium
into the another or when water waves move into water of different depth.
2. REFLECTION:
Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface
between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from
which it originated. Common examples include the reflection of light, sound
and water waves.
3. SCATTERING:
Scattering is a general physical process where some forms of radiation,
such as light, sound, or moving particles, are forced to deviate from a straight
trajectory by one or more localized non-uniformities in the medium through
which they pass. In conventional use, this also includes deviation of reflected
radiation from the angle predicted by the law of reflection.
4. TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION:
This phenomenon occurs when the light rays travel from a more optically
denser medium to a less optically denser medium. Since it passes from a
medium of a higher refractive index to that having a lower refractive index, the
refracted light ray bends away from the normal. At a specific angle of incidence,
the incident ray of light is refracted in such a way that it passes along the surface
of the water. This particular angle of incidence is called the critical angle. When
the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, the incident ray is
reflected back to the medium. We call this phenomenon total internal reflection.
5. REFRACTION FROM DENSER TO RARER MEDIUM:
Refraction from denser medium to rarer medium : (i) If the light ray travels
from denser medium to rarer medium, it bends away from the normal drawn to
the interface at point of incidence. If i < C r < 900
(ii) For which incident angle, the angle of refraction is 900 that incident angle is
called critical angle. If the incident angle is critical angle then the refracted ray
passes along the interface of the two media. If i = C r = 900
(iii) If the incident angle is greater than the critical angle then the light ray gets
total internal reflection. It means, the light ray gets reflection instead of refraction.
If i > C r > 900
6. MIRAGES:
Mirage is an optical illusion where it appears that water has collected on the
road at a distant place but when we get there, we don’t find any water. The
formation of a mirage is the best example where refractive index of a medium
varies throughout the medium. During a hot summer day, air just above the road
surface is very hot and the air at higher altitudes is cool. It means that the
temperature decreases with height. As a result, density of air increases with
height. We know that refractive index of air increases with density. Thus the
refractive index of air increases with height. So, the cooler air at the top has
greater refractive index than hotter air just above the road. Light travels faster
through the thinner hot air than through the denser cool air . The paths of light
rays when there is no change in density of air. Refractive index decreases with
depth above it. When the light from a tall object such as tree or from the sky
passes through a medium just above the road, whose refractive index decreases
towards ground, it suffers, refraction and takes a curved path because of total
internal reflection. This refracted light reaches the observer in a separate
direction. This appears to the observer as if the ray is reflected from the ground.
Hence we feel the illusion of water being present on road , which is the virtual
image of the sky (mirage) or an inverted image of tree on the road.

7. DISPERSION:
When white light is passed through a glass prism it splits into its spectrum of colors
(in order violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red) and this process of
white light splitting into its constituent colors is termed as dispersion.
In diamond, as the light moves through the diamond, it is scattered and fractured,
creating the sparkle that diamonds are known for. This is the refraction. Refraction
and dispersion are the reasons why the light ray travels through the diamond.
Diamond acts like a tiny complicated prism through which the light ray travels at
different angles and gives a shiny appearance.
8. SPARKLING OF DIAMONDS:
Diamond sparkles because of total internal reflection.Total internal reflection: The
phenomenon which occurs when the light rays travel from a more optically denser
medium to a less optically denser medium.
They are two conditions of total internal reflection:
*The light ray moves from a more dense medium to a less dense medium.
*The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.
Along with total internal reflection, the following are the three other factors that
determine the sparkling of the diamond:
*Reflection *Refraction *Dispersion
ABSTARCT:
It is generally accepted that mirage is formed when temperature of the ground surface, in
a flat area like desert, is higher than the temperatures of the over ground air layers. In this
case, light emerging from a distant object makes total internal reflection in the air layers
and forms the image of the object that is called mirage. Our investigation on mirage
formation in desert indicates that there is no meaningful relation between mirage
formation and temperature change over the ground. In addition, we show that, the
interference of the lights reflected from different air layers destroys the coherency of the
image forming light. This happens because the temperature change occurs in an interval
larger than a wavelength. In the second part of the report we demonstrate theoretically
and experimentally that flat rough surfaces behave like mirrors at very large incident
angles. We show that there is a threshold incident angle for observation of image in a
rough surface that depends on the surface roughness and light wavelength. The shortest
distance between observer and the image is determined by the threshold incident angle.
Mirage is such an image. Image formation is studied in rough sheet glass surfaces that
prepared by grinding with powders of different sizes.
INTRODUCTION:
MIRAGE:
A MIRAGE is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend
via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky.[1] The
word comes to English via the French (se) mirer, from the Latin mirari, meaning
"to look at, to wonder at".[2]
Mirages can be categorized as "inferior" (meaning lower), "superior" (meaning
higher) and "Fata Morgana", one kind of superior mirage consisting of a series of
unusually elaborate, vertically stacked images, which form one rapidly-changing
mirage.
In contrast to a hallucination, a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be
captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image
at the observer's location. What the image appears to represent, however, is
determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind. For example, inferior
images on land are very easily mistaken for the reflections from a small body of
water.
There are two types of mirages: inferior and superior. Mirages are caused by light
refraction, which is the bending of light waves. Refraction occurs when light goes
through one type of material into another. For example it may pass through air and
go into water. Light can also be refracted when it passes through an area of warm
air into an area of cooler air because cold air has a higher density than warm air.
SPARKLING OF DIAMOND:
Light is the leading cause of diamond sparkles, and the amount of sparkles depends
on the amount of light it takes. Diamonds are cut into numerous facets: these are
shapes. Each shape is like a mirror and reflects light from one facet to another and
bounces it back to the diamond, creating beautiful sparkles. Generally, cuts are
behind the performance of diamonds in the spotlight.
The reflection of light in diamonds is divided into two types, and here is the
definition of each.
*Brilliance – This type of reflection takes place when white light reflects on
diamonds. The brilliance of any diamond depends on the amount of white light
it reflects. For instance, if it is more brilliant, it means it took in more white
 light and reflected it. This is the secret behind the diamond’s sparkling that
makes it beautiful and impressive.
Fire– This is the ability of a diamond to take in colored light and disperse it.
A diamond that features a great fire will release a reflection that is colored.
This gives it a distinct beauty and character. Whether it’s red, orange, green,
or blue, fire can take any of them.
The diamonds with a bigger number of facets boast a high brilliance compared to
those with fewer facets. Another factor that dictates diamond sparkling is the shape
of the diamond. For example, round-shaped diamonds sparkle more compared to
cushions, radiant, or princess cuts.

Critical angle investigation:

Investigate experimentally the critical angle and the conditions under which total
internal reflection occurs within a semi-circular glass block
• On a sheet of white paper, draw around a semi-circular glass block.
• Remove the glass block. Locate the centre of the side AB, and, using a
protractor, draw a normal. Label the normal, O.
• Replace the glass block carefully on its outline.
• Connect a ray box to a low voltage power supply. Direct ray of light
along a radius of the block towards O. The angle of incidence at O should be
about 15o.
• Observe the refracted ray – away from the normal into air. Note that
there is also a weak reflected ray inside the glass block.
 • Slowly increase the angle of incidence, until the angle of refraction is
90 . The angle of incidence in the glass block is the critical angle C. Note
o

that there is still a reflected ray inside the glass block but it is stronger now.
• Mark the position of the incident ray with two pencil Xs.
• Remove the glass block. Use a ruler and a pencil to join the Xs to O.
• Use a protractor to measure the critical angle C.
The critical angle in glass is approximately 42o.

What are the conditions necessary for TIR ?

Total internal reflection takes place only when:
• The light should pass from a denser medium to a rare medium.
• The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.

Examples of total internal reflection

• Underwater reflection of a turtle.
• Mirage is the image of some distant object that appears.
• A fish that looks like water above as a mirror.

Applications of total internal Reflection

• Optical fibres
• Endoscope
• Periscope
• Binoculars
• Prisms

APPLICATIONS OF TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION:

1. OPTICAL FIBRE
* Total internal reflection is also used in optical fibres. An optical fibre consists of an
inner core of high refractive index glass and surrounded by an outer cladding of lower
refractive index.
*When light is introduced into the inner core at one end, it will propagate along the fibre
in a zigzag path undergoing a series of total internal reflections.
*Optical fibres are useful for getting light to inaccessible places. They are used in many
important practical applications. This includes fibre optic diagnostic tools in medicine
and fibre optic cables in telecommunications.
*An endoscope is an instrument made of a fibre optic cable. It is used by doctors to see
the inside of the human body such as the stomach and the duodenum.
*In telecommunications, copper cables are now replaced by fibre optic cables in the
telephone system.
*Multiple signals can be sent at high speeds through bundles of fibres by using flashes
of light from a laser.
2. PERISCOPE

Prisms are used in the construction of a periscope. The image seen through a periscope
is upright and the same size as the object.
*The first prism rotates the image by 90° and the second prism rotates it back to normal.
PRISM:

*Images produced by total internal reflection are brighter than those produced by
mirrors.
*When light rays strike the inside surface of a right-angled glass prism with an angle of
incidence, i that is greater than the critical angle, c (42° for glass), total internal reflection
occurs.
*A 45745° prism is capable of bending light rays through 90°.
*This makes them useful to be used as a reflector.
REFLECTOR:

Reflectors that are fixed at the bending of roads and the cat’s eye reflectors on the
dividing lines of road lanes are important to drivers at night.
*They reflect the light rays from the headlamps of a car j back to the driver.
*This makes the bend and the lanes visible at night.
*The prism inside the reflector reflects the incident light by total internal reflection
SINGLE LENS REFLEX CAMERA:

*A single-lens reflex (SLR) camera has a pentaprism which is used to reflect the
incoming light to the! viewfinder.
*This allows the photographer to actually see the light j which is entering the lens of the
camera.
BINOCULARS:

*A 45°/45° prism can cause light rays to bend through 180° when the light is incident at
right angles onto the hypotenuse of the prism as shown in Figure.

*This property of prisms makes them useful in the construction of binoculars.

*Two prisms are arranged to bend the light rays from an object through 360°.
*A pair of binoculars is much more compact than a telescope.
3. ENDOSCOPE

An endoscope is a medical instrument used for exploratory diagnostics and surgical

purposes. An endoscope is used to explore the interior organs of the body. Due to
its small size, it can be inserted through the mouth and thus eliminates invasive
surgery.
The endoscope used to examine the stomach, bladder and throat are called
Gastroscope, Cystoscope and Bronchoscope respectively. An endoscope uses two
fiber-optic tubes through a pipe.
A medical procedure using any type of endoscope is called endoscopy. The light
shines on the organ of the patient to be examined by entering through one of the
fiber tubes of the endoscope. Then the light is transmitted back to the physician’s
viewing lens through the outer fiber tube by the internal reflection.
Flexible endoscopes have a tiny camera attached to the end. The doctor can see the
view recorded by the camera on a computer screen.

4.SPARKLING OF DIAMONDS:
When light passes from one medium into a second, less dense medium, the light
bends away from the normal. If the angle of incidence is increased beyond the
critical angle, the light rays will be totally reflected back into the incident medium.
This effect is called total internal reflection. At a particular incident angle, the angle
of refraction will be 90 degrees, and the refracted ray would travel along the
boundary between the two media. Total internal reflection occurs when the critical
angle is increased such that the light is reflected back into the same medium and is
not refracted out into the other medium. Total internal reflection occurs when the
angle of incidence is equal to or greater than the critical angle.
A good example of total internal reflection is a diamond. Diamonds achieve their
brilliance partially from total internal reflection. Diamond has the highest index of
refraction but can increase the amount of total internal reflection by being cut
properly making diamond sparkle. Because diamonds have a high index of
refraction (about 2.3), the critical angle for the total internal reflection is only about
25 degrees. After many such reflections, the colors in the light are separated and
seen individually. The diamond is cut suitably so that the light entering the diamond
from any face incident at an angle greater than its critical angle and suffers multiple
total internal reflections at various surfaces.

5.MIRAGES:
*INFERIOR MIRAGE:
In an inferior mirage, which is the most common type, an object seems to be
present as if it were both the actual object and its reflection in a pool of water.
When the ground is very hot, heat radiates up out of the ground and warms the air
directly above it. When light passes through the cooler air above into the warmer
air below, it bends and creates a mirage. The mirage looks like an object that is
reflected in water because part of the light would usually go to the ground, but it is
bent and goes up to your eyes instead, creating a double image. Inferior mirages
are commonly seen on paved roads during hot days, and often look like puddles of
water on the road's surface. This is the mirage in the desert — the scenario most
frequently associated with mirages.
*SUPERIOR MIRAGES:
A superior mirage appears above the horizon because a mass of cool air is below
a mass of warm air. It usually appears over ice or very cold water. In this type of
mirage, the object appears to be much higher than is logical. Examples of this type
commonly seen by sailors are images of floating islands and masses of land where
there are none. Superior mirages are most commonly seen in polar regions due to
the large quantities of ice and very cold water.
7. FISHVIEW INSIDE WATER:

Fish-eye's view is of the world in a 98o cone. Outside this cone all is
darkness...[Actually this is not true due to the scattering of light in water

*Fish-eye view – the scene above water is compressed into a cone of vertical angle = 2c.
*Outside this cone, the scene underwater is reflected by total internal reflection.

REFERENCES:
• https://www.aplustopper.com/applications-total-internal-reflection/
• https://www.allthescience.org/what-is-a-mirage.html
• https://oxscience.com/applications-of-total-internal-reflection/
• https://www.scienceabc.com/pure-sciences/why-do-diamonds-sparkle.html
•
THANK YOU