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The critical angle is not the same thing as the angle of incidence.

There is a reason the confusion. The critical angle is defined as the smallest angle of incidence which results in total internal reflection.

Every plane wave incident on a flat surface has an angle of incidence. That can be any angle. When a wave travels from a dense medium to a less dense medium, there comes an angle of incidence where there is no transmission into the less dense medium. We say then that for an angle of incidence above the "critical angle" the result is total internal reflection.

It is also true that with Snell's law, the critical angle is the particular angle of incidence which would result in a 90 degree angle of refraction.

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12y ago

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Q: Is the critical angle the same thing as the angle of incidence?
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