Brewster Angle
Calculate Brewster angle between two supplied refractive indices.
Description
The Brewster-angle model relates incidence and transmission refractive indices at an ideal dielectric interface.
The Brewster-angle model relates incidence and transmission refractive indices at an ideal dielectric interface. The angle is measured from the surface normal.1
Calculate Brewster angle between two supplied refractive indices.
When to use Brewster Angle
Use this tool to calculate Brewster angle between two supplied refractive indices.
Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
How to use Brewster Angle and understand its results
- Prepare the optical measurements, geometry, fitted coefficients or caller-selected thresholds requested. Confirm wavelength, radius/diameter, pulse-width, angle and unit conventions before running the calculation.
- Enter incidentRefractiveIndex, transmittedRefractiveIndex using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
- Read brewsterAngleDegrees. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
- If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.
| Input field | Meaning | Value type; see rules below | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| incidentRefractiveIndex | Incident-medium refractive index | number; minimum: 0 | Required |
| transmittedRefractiveIndex | Transmitted-medium refractive index | number; minimum: 0 | Required |
Enter positive refractive indices. Return principal angle in degrees.
angleDegrees=atan(ntransmitted/nincident)×180/π Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.
| Output field | Meaning | Value type |
|---|---|---|
| brewsterAngleDegrees | Brewster angle (°) | number; minimum: 0; maximum: 90 |
{
"input": {
"incidentRefractiveIndex": 1,
"transmittedRefractiveIndex": 1.5
},
"output": {
"brewsterAngleDegrees": 56.309932474020215
}
}Limitations and assumptions
No absorption, complex indices, magnetic response or multilayer coating is modeled.
Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Use Autocollimator Angle: Convert autocollimator spot displacement into mirror angle. For a complementary task, use PBS Extinction: Calculate PBS extinction ratio, decibels, and leakage fraction.
References
-
Brewster Angle — tool.io
Similar or alternative tools
- Autocollimator Angle
Convert autocollimator spot displacement into mirror angle.
- PBS Extinction
Calculate PBS extinction ratio, decibels, and leakage fraction.