Unpolarised light is incident on the boundary between two dielectric media, whose dielectric constants are (medium-) and (medium-), respectively. To satisfy the condition such that the reflected and refracted rays are perpendicular to each other, the angle of incidence should be . The value of is:
JEE Physics 2023 Question with Solution
Answer
Correct answer:7
Step-by-step solution
Standard Method
Given: dielectric constants are and .
Find: the value of for which the reflected and refracted rays are perpendicular.
Using Brewster's law, the angle of incidence satisfies
where and .
Given and ,
Simplifying,
Taking the arctangent,
Therefore, the value of is .
Concept to Computation
Given: the two media have dielectric constants and .
Find: the Brewster angle .
The required condition is that the reflected ray and refracted ray are at right angles to each other. This is the Brewster condition. For this case,
Now substitute the given values as used in the solution:
Hence,
So,
Thus, the numerical answer is .
Common mistakes
Using the dielectric constants directly without following the Brewster-law relation given in the question. This is wrong because the required condition is specifically the perpendicularity of reflected and refracted rays. Use the stated relation for first.
Confusing dielectric constant with refractive index carelessly. This leads to applying an incorrect ratio. Follow the exact substitution shown in the solution and then evaluate the arctangent.
Stopping at and reporting as the answer. This is wrong because the question asks for the angle , not its tangent. Take to obtain the final value.
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