in optics, the greatest angle at which a ray of light, travelling in one transparent medium, can strike the boundary between that medium and a second of lower refractive index without being totally reflected within the first medium. (The refractive index of a transparent substance is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in that substance.) For any angle of incidence smaller than the critical angle, and for any angle at all if the ray strikes the boundary from the other side, part of the beam will penetrate the boundary, being refracted in the process.