Total external reflection is a phenomenon traditionally involving
X-rays
An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...
, but in principle any type of electromagnetic or other wave, closely related to
total internal reflection
In physics, total internal reflection (TIR) is the phenomenon in which waves arriving at the interface (boundary) from one medium to another (e.g., from water to air) are not refracted into the second ("external") medium, but completely refl ...
.
Total internal reflection describes the fact that radiation (e.g. visible light) can, at certain angles, be totally reflected from an interface between two media of different
indices of refraction (see
Snell's law
Snell's law (also known as the Snell–Descartes law, the ibn-Sahl law, and the law of refraction) is a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing th ...
). Total internal reflection occurs when the first medium has a larger refractive index than the second medium, for example, light that starts in water and bounces off the water-to-air interface.
Total external reflection is the situation where the light starts in air and vacuum (refractive index 1), and bounces off a material with index of refraction less than 1. For example, in X-rays, the refractive index is frequently slightly less than 1, and therefore total external reflection can happen at a glancing angle. It is called ''external'' because the light bounces off the exterior of the material. This makes it possible to focus X-rays.
[See, for example, NASA ]
References
Geometrical optics
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