Light can travel long distances through optical fibers due to the phenomenon of total internal reflection. But if anything touches the surface of the fiber, it messes up the reflection and causes light to leave the fiber. To prevent this, the core of the optical fiber is typically surrounded by a cladding made of a lower index of refraction material. This keeps things away from the surface of the core. But because the cladding has an index higher than that of air, the critical angle is larger than it would have been than if the core were in contact with the air. Required:
If the core of an optical fiber has an index of refraction of 1.624 and the cladding has an index of refraction of 1.311, what is the critical angle for total internal reflection?