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Investigating Light Intensity with Two Polarisers. If an unpolarised light source is placed in front of two identical polarising filters, A and B, with their transmission axes parallel: Filter A will polarise the light in a certain axis; All of the polarised light will pass through filter B unaffected
Unpolarised light consists of waves with electric field vectors in random directions within a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation. If unpolarised light passes through a polarising filter, it emerges as plane-polarised light and reduces to half of its original intensity.
The energy which passes through the polaroid, i.e., the intensity of the light, is proportional to the square of $\cos\theta$. $\operatorname{Cos}^2\theta$, then, is the intensity transmitted when the light enters polarized at an angle $\theta$ to the pass direction.
- Polarization by Use of A Polaroid Filter
- Polarization by Reflection
- Polarization by Refraction
- Polarization by Scattering
- Applications of Polarization
The most common method of polarization involves the use of a Polaroid filter. Polaroid filters are made of a special material that is capable of blocking one of the two planes of vibration of an electromagnetic wave. (Remember, the notion of two planes or directions of vibration is merely a simplification that helps us to visualize the wavelike nat...
Unpolarized light can also undergo polarization by reflection off of nonmetallic surfaces. The extent to which polarization occurs is dependent upon the angle at which the light approaches the surface and upon the material that the surface is made of. Metallic surfaces reflect light with a variety of vibrational directions; such reflected light is ...
Polarization can also occur by the refraction of light. Refraction occurs when a beam of light passes from one material into another material. At the surface of the two materials, the path of the beam changes its direction. The refracted beam acquires some degree of polarization. Most often, the polarization occurs in a plane perpendicular to the s...
Polarization also occurs when light is scattered while traveling through a medium. When light strikes the atoms of a material, it will often set the electrons of those atoms into vibration. The vibrating electrons then produce their own electromagnetic wave that is radiated outward in all directions. This newly generated wave strikes neighboring at...
Polarization has a wealth of other applications besides their use in glare-reducing sunglasses. In industry, Polaroid filters are used to perform stress analysis tests on transparent plastics. As light passes through a plastic, each color of visible light is polarized with its own orientation. If such a plastic is placed between two polarizing plat...
May 31, 2024 · What fraction of the intensity of the incoming light is the intensity of the outgoing light? Solution. When the unpolarized light passes through the first filter, the intensity is cut in half and comes out polarized at \(0^o\).
Feb 20, 2022 · It can be shown that reflected light is completely polarized at a angle of reflection \(\theta_{b}\), given by \[\tan{\theta_{b}} = \frac{n_{2}}{n_{1}}, \label{27.9.4}\] where \(n_{1}\) is the medium in which the incident and reflected light travel and \(n_{2}\) is the index of refraction of the medium that forms the interface that reflects the ...
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(a) The diagram on the left shows red light passing through a slit and undergoing diffraction. Red light Blue light On the diagram on the right, show the same effect for blue light. (2) (b) If the red light passes through two slits that are close together, the waves spread out, overlap and add together to produce a pattern of light and dark bands.
