State three methods of polirizing an unpolarized light
Unpolarized light (in which the vibrations occur in all planes perpendicular to the direction of travel) can be polarized by the following methods:
Selective absorption (using a Polaroid): passing the light through a Polaroid sheet, which transmits vibrations in only one plane and absorbs those in all other planes.
Reflection: light reflected from a smooth non-metallic surface (such as glass or water) at the polarizing (Brewster) angle becomes plane polarized.
Double refraction (using a crystal): passing the light through a doubly refracting crystal such as calcite or tourmaline (or a Nicol prism), which splits it into two plane-polarized rays.
(Scattering, for example by dust or air molecules, also produces partially polarized light.)
Unpolarized light (in which the vibrations occur in all planes perpendicular to the direction of travel) can be polarized by the following methods:
Selective absorption (using a Polaroid): passing the light through a Polaroid sheet, which transmits vibrations in only one plane and absorbs those in all other planes.
Reflection: light reflected from a smooth non-metallic surface (such as glass or water) at the polarizing (Brewster) angle becomes plane polarized.
Double refraction (using a crystal): passing the light through a doubly refracting crystal such as calcite or tourmaline (or a Nicol prism), which splits it into two plane-polarized rays.
(Scattering, for example by dust or air molecules, also produces partially polarized light.)