Download Internal Reflection

Demo
Total internal reflection using a water stream:
Ken Harvey
Carol Lynch
James Havens
Objective: To demonstrate total internal reflection from air to water.
Equipment:
Clear plastic container, 2 or 3 l soda bottle
Laser pointer
Procedure:
Remove any labels from the clear plastic bottle.
Drill a hole about the size of a small pen about 2/3 of the distance from the top.
Fill the bottle with water and allow a stream of water to flow from the bottle.
Shine the laser through the bottle into the stream of water.
Observe the total internal reflection of the laser in the stream of water.
Discussion:
The stream of water acts as an optic conductor that will allow light to “bend” due
to the total internal reflection.
Questions:
1. Why does the light “bend” as it shines in the water stream?
2. How does this compare to fiber optic data transmission?
3. Draw a picture of a fiber optic cable and show the light beam moving through
it.