(N.A.) of the fiber. For a cable with a core that has an index of refraction of 1.5 and a cladding with an index of refraction of 1.28, what do you expect the critical angle acrit to be (in degrees)? Cladding- Core → core refracted reflected

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**Understanding Fiber-Optic Cable Refraction Experiment**

Consider a ray incident on the end of a fiber-optic cable as illustrated in the figure below. In the experiment, you will explore the behavior of the fiber as a function of the angle of incidence \( \alpha \). When a ray strikes the end of the fiber, it is bent toward the normal. By Snell's law, the angle inside the core is \( \sin \theta_{\text{core}} = \frac{n_0}{n_1} \sin \alpha \). Once inside the core, the ray travels until it strikes the cladding of the fiber. The angle of incidence at the cladding \( i \) is the complementary angle of \( \theta_{\text{core}} \). If \( i \) is a small angle, the ray will propagate into the cladding and be lost from the fiber. If \( i \) is large, however, the ray will be internally reflected and bounce down the fiber. By Snell's law, the critical angle for the ray to be internally reflected is \( \sin i_{\text{crit}} = n_2/n_1 \).

In the experiment, you cannot directly measure angles inside the fiber but you can measure \( \alpha \). Using the facts that:

(i) for complementary angles, \( \sin \theta_{\text{core}} = \cos i \),

(ii) the trigonometric identity \( \cos i = \sqrt{1 - \sin^2 i} \),

and (iii) the index of refraction of air is \( n_0 = 1 \),

it can be shown that \( \sin \alpha_{\text{crit}} = \sqrt{n_1^2 - n_2^2} \). This quantity is known as the numerical aperture (N.A.) of the fiber.

For a cable with a core that has an index of refraction of 1.5 and a cladding with an index of refraction of 1.28, what do you expect the critical angle \( \alpha_{\text{crit}} \) to be (in degrees)?

---

**Diagram Explanation:**

The diagram below illustrates the process:

- **Cladding**: The outer layer that surrounds the core.
- **Core**: The central part of the fiber-optic cable where light travels.
- **Ray Path**: 
  - The incident ray enters at angle
Transcribed Image Text:**Understanding Fiber-Optic Cable Refraction Experiment** Consider a ray incident on the end of a fiber-optic cable as illustrated in the figure below. In the experiment, you will explore the behavior of the fiber as a function of the angle of incidence \( \alpha \). When a ray strikes the end of the fiber, it is bent toward the normal. By Snell's law, the angle inside the core is \( \sin \theta_{\text{core}} = \frac{n_0}{n_1} \sin \alpha \). Once inside the core, the ray travels until it strikes the cladding of the fiber. The angle of incidence at the cladding \( i \) is the complementary angle of \( \theta_{\text{core}} \). If \( i \) is a small angle, the ray will propagate into the cladding and be lost from the fiber. If \( i \) is large, however, the ray will be internally reflected and bounce down the fiber. By Snell's law, the critical angle for the ray to be internally reflected is \( \sin i_{\text{crit}} = n_2/n_1 \). In the experiment, you cannot directly measure angles inside the fiber but you can measure \( \alpha \). Using the facts that: (i) for complementary angles, \( \sin \theta_{\text{core}} = \cos i \), (ii) the trigonometric identity \( \cos i = \sqrt{1 - \sin^2 i} \), and (iii) the index of refraction of air is \( n_0 = 1 \), it can be shown that \( \sin \alpha_{\text{crit}} = \sqrt{n_1^2 - n_2^2} \). This quantity is known as the numerical aperture (N.A.) of the fiber. For a cable with a core that has an index of refraction of 1.5 and a cladding with an index of refraction of 1.28, what do you expect the critical angle \( \alpha_{\text{crit}} \) to be (in degrees)? --- **Diagram Explanation:** The diagram below illustrates the process: - **Cladding**: The outer layer that surrounds the core. - **Core**: The central part of the fiber-optic cable where light travels. - **Ray Path**: - The incident ray enters at angle
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