A frustração da reflexão total revisitada

Abstract

The total reflection is a phenomenon long known of geometric optics, but with a subtle feature, evanescent waves, whose full characterization depends on enhancements of the theory and the mathematical methods used. This work deals with the modeling and verification of this phenomenon. At first, the improvements in theoretical approach are done, via Maxwell's equations, and then introduce the complex notation, essential mathematical tool for the study of oscillatory phenomena. Follows exposure by applying the techniques and the theory presented to study the reflection and refraction of electromagnetic waves in dielectric media, which culminates with the study of total reflection, which derives the existence of evanescent waves, whose verification is done by in an experiment with a microwave and prisms of paraffin. Then, we present some applications of the phenomenon discussed and it is suggested as future work, the improvement of the experiment, as well as the study of evanescent waves associated with other oscillatory phenomena.