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Sbyrnes321 (talk | contribs) delete PROD: Google books finds the term used thousands of times (mostly in the context of X-rays). Skimming through the first few pages of results, I find every indication that it's a mainstream term. Edit a bit. |
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5) (Whoop whoop pull up - 21288 |
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{{Short description|Situation or phenomena, When light bounces off a material with a low index of refraction}}
{{Refimprove|date=September 2014}}
'''Total external reflection''' is a phenomenon traditionally involving [[X-rays]], but in principle any type of electromagnetic or other wave, closely related to [[total internal reflection]].
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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Attwood|first=D|title=Soft X-Rays and Extreme Ultraviolet Radiation|year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> This makes it possible to focus X-rays
==References==
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