total internal reflection

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Datamuse reports no synonyms or antonyms for this word.

Noun

1. {{lb|en|optics|uncountable}} A phenomenon where light, instead of passing into a medium of a lower [[refractive index]] and [[refract]]ing away from the [[normal]], is completely reflected by the boundary between the two media because it approaches at an angle greater than or equal to the [[critical angle]].
2. {{lb|en|countable}} An instance of this phenomenon.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.