A beam of unpolarized light is sent through two polarizing...

Name: Problem 49, Chapter 34: Understanding Physics
Uploaded: 2021-07-25T21:28:09-08:00
Duration: 56 s
Channel: Manish Kumar ( Iit K )
Description: A beam of unpolarized light is sent through two polarizing sheets placed one on top of the other. What must be the angle between the polarizing directions of the sheets if the intensity of the transmitted light is to be one-third the incident intensity?

A beam of unpolarized light is sent through two polarizing sheets placed one on top of the other. What must be the angle between the polarizing directions of the sheets if the intensity of the transmitted light is to be one-third the incident intensity?

Key Concepts

Unpolarized Light

Unpolarized light consists of waves with electric field vectors oscillating in all directions perpendicular to the direction of propagation. When it encounters a polarizing filter, only the component of light aligned with the filter's axis passes through, effectively reducing the light’s intensity and converting it into polarized light.

Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter is an optical device that allows only light vibrating in a specific direction to pass while absorbing or reflecting the rest. It is used to control the polarization state of light, which is crucial in various optical experiments and applications.

Malus's Law

Malus's Law describes the relationship between the intensity of polarized light that passes through a polarizer and the angle between the light’s polarization direction and the filter’s axis. According to this law, the transmitted intensity is proportional to the cosine squared of the angle between these directions.

Intensity Reduction Through Successive Polarizers

When unpolarized light first passes through a polarizer, its intensity is reduced by half because only one component of the light's electric field contributes. In a system with multiple polarizers, the transmitted light intensity through the second filter depends on the relative angle between the polarizers, following Malus's Law, leading to further reduction in intensity based on the cosine squared of this angle.

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