Unpolarized light is incident on four ideal polarizing...

Name: Problem 44, Chapter 22: Physics
Uploaded: 2021-04-06T14:25:21-08:00
Duration: 2 min 5 s
Channel: Narayan Hari
Description: Unpolarized light is incident on four ideal polarizing sheets with their transmission axes oriented as shown in the figure. What percentage of the initial light intensity is transmitted through this set of polarizers?

Unpolarized light is incident on four ideal polarizing sheets with their transmission axes oriented as shown in the figure. What percentage of the initial light intensity is transmitted through this set of polarizers?

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Key Concepts

Polarization

Polarization refers to the orientation of the oscillations of the electromagnetic waves that make up light. Unpolarized light contains waves vibrating in all directions perpendicular to the direction of propagation, while polarized light has waves with a specific orientation.

Polarizers

Polarizers are optical devices that only allow light waves oscillating in a certain direction to pass through. They are used to filter the light by its polarization state, converting unpolarized light into linearly polarized light.

Malus's Law

Malus's Law is a fundamental principle that describes the reduction in intensity when polarized light passes through a polarizer. It states that the transmitted intensity is proportional to the cosine squared of the angle between the light's polarization direction and the polarizer's transmission axis.

Series of Polarizers

When multiple polarizers are arranged one after the other, each with a slightly different orientation, the overall transmitted light intensity is determined by the sequential application of Malus's Law. This arrangement can allow some light to be transmitted even when the initial and final polarizers are oriented at large angles relative to each other.

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