Polarisation

Polarisation
 Polarisation is when:

Particle oscillations occur in only one of the directions perpendicular to the direction
of wave propagation

 Polarisation can only occur in transverse waves

o This is because transverse waves oscillate in any plane perpendicular to the
propagation direction
 When transverse waves are polarised, this means:
o Vibrations are restricted to one direction
o These vibrations are still perpendicular to the direction of propagation /
energy transfer
 The difference between unpolarised and polarised waves is shown in the diagram
below:

Diagram showing the displacement of unpolarised and polarised transverse waves

 Longitudinal waves (e.g. sound waves) cannot be polarised

o This is because they oscillate parallel to the direction of travel
 Waves can be polarised through a polariser or polarising filter
 o This only allows oscillations in a certain plane to be transmitted

Diagram showing an unpolarised and polarised wave travelling through

polarisers

 Diagram A shows:
o Only unpolarised waves can be polarised
 Diagram B shows:
o When a polarised wave passes through a filter with a transmission axis
perpendicular to the wave, none of the wave will pass through
 Light can also be polarised through reflection, refraction and scattering
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:
o Filter A will polarise the light in a certain axis
o All of the polarised light will pass through filter B unaffected
o In this case, the maximum intensity of light is transmitted

When both polarisers have the same transmission axis, the intensity of the transmitted
light is at its maximum

 As the polarising filter B is rotated anticlockwise, the intensity of the light observed
changes periodically depending on the angle B is rotated through
 When A and B have their transmission axes perpendicular to each other:
o Filter A will polarise the light in a certain axis
o This time none of the polarised light will pass through filter B
o In this case, the minimum intensity of light is transmitted

When one of the polarisers is rotated through 90°, the intensity of the transmitted light
drops to zero
 The resulting graph of the light intensity with angle, as the second polariser is
rotated through 360°, looks as follows:

Graph showing how the intensity of the transmitted beam varies with the angle
between the transmission axes of the two polarisers

Worked Example
Which statement below describes a situation in which polarisation should
happen?

A. Radio waves pass through a metal grid

B. Surface water waves are diffracted

C. Sound waves are reflected

D. Ultrasound waves pass through a metal grid

ANSWER: A

 Radio waves are transverse waves – they can be polarised by a metal grid
so only the waves that fit through the grid will be transmitted,
therefore, A is correct
 B cannot be correct as waves are not polarised when diffracted, but are
polarised only when reflected, refracted or scattered
 C & D cannot be correct as polarisation only occurs for transverse
waves, therefore, C & D can be ruled out as sound and ultrasound are both
longitudinal waves

Exam Tip
 You may be expected to describe the intensity, or even draw the graph of intensity v
angle, for light with two polarisers, however, the good news is that you won’t be
expected to perform any calculations (Malus’s Law) in relation to thi

Methods of Polarization of Light

There are various methods of Polarization of the light, but the following four
methods are more popular.
1) Polarization by Scattering,
2) Polarization by Reflection,
3) Polarization by Refraction &
4) Polarization by Transmission.

1. Polarization by Scattering- When light travels through a medium, atoms

of the medium (also the dust present in the medium) vibrate and produce
electromagnetic waves. These waves are radiated outwards and thus the light
is scattered. In this entire process, absorption and remission of light waves
occur throughout the material. The scattered light is also known as partially
polarized. Transmission of these partially polarised lights causes glare.

2. Polarization by Reflection- When unpolarized light is made to fall on a

non-metallic surface, at a particular angle, the surface reflects the polarized
light. In this process, the angle of incidence and the non-metallic surface plays
an important role to regulate the magnitude of polarization.

3. Polarization by Refraction- Refraction is when a light wave travels from

one medium to another, it changes its direction and speed. This refracted beam
attains some degree of polarization. In the majority of the cases, polarization by
refraction occurs in the plane which is perpendicular to the surface.

4. Polarization by Transmission- In this method, involves the use of filter

materials that have special chemical composition. They are known as Polaroid
filters. These polaroid filters can block one of the two planes of electromagnetic
waves. When the unpolarized light is transmitted through these polaroid filters,
it filters out the one-half of the vibrations of the light in a single plane. This
polarized light has one half of the intensity.

Applications of Polarization of Light

1. In the production of glare-reducing sunglasses.
2. In many industries, polaroid filters are used for stress analysis tests on
transparent plastics.
3. In the entertainment industry, to telecast or to show a 3D film, the
phenomenon of polarization of light is used.
4. To differentiate between a longitudinal and a transverse wave.
5. To cut the refractions, Fishermen, Skiers, motorists, sportsmen need
special sunglasses. In the production of these special sunglasses
polarization of light is used.
6. Many photographers use polarizers to capture the perfect scene.
7. Polarization microscopes are used in geological studies to identify the
minerals.
8. In infrared spectroscopy.
9. To check the chirality of organic compounds
10. To study the physics of the early universe, the effect of polarization
is used.
11. To know the source of radiation and scattering.
12. To characterize the stress-strain distribution in the prototypes,
polarization is used.
13. To identify thermally tempered lenses.
14. In ophthalmic instruments, to eliminate strong reflection from a
patient's cornea, the phenomenon polarization of light is used.
15. As light passes through the atmosphere polarization of light is
observed
16. The scattered light is known to give rise to various colours in the
sky
 the polarization of refracted light is often
Polarization by Refraction demonstrated in a Physics class using a
Polarization can also occur by the refraction unique crystal that serves as a double-
of refracting crystal.
light. Iceland Spar, a rather rare form of the
mineral calcite, refracts incident light into
two different paths.
The light is split into two beams upon
entering the crystal. Subsequently, if an
object is viewed by looking through an
Iceland Spar crystal, two images will be
seen.
The two images are the result of the
double refraction of light. Both refracted
light beams are polarized - one in a
direction parallel to the surface and the
other in a direction perpendicular to the
surface. Since these two refracted rays are
polarized with a perpendicular orientation,
Refraction occurs when a beam of light a polarizing filter can be used to completely
passes from one material into another block one of the images.
material. At the surface of the two If the polarization axis of the filter is
materials, the path of the beam changes aligned perpendicular to the plane of
its direction. The refracted beam acquires polarized light, the light is completely
some degree of polarization. Most often, blocked by the filter; meanwhile the second
the polarization occurs in a plane image is as bright as can be. And if the
perpendicular to the surface. filter is then turned 90-degrees in either
direction, the second image reappears and
the first image disappears.
Now that's pretty neat observation that
could never be observed if light did not
exhibit any wavelike behavior.

Polarization by Reflection
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 unpolarized.
However, nonmetallic surfaces such as asphalt roadways, snowfields and
water reflect light such that there is a large concentration of vibrations in a
plane parallel to the reflecting surface. A person viewing objects by means
of light reflected off of nonmetallic surfaces will often perceive a glare if the
extent of polarization is large. Fishermen are familiar with this glare since it
prevents them from seeing fish that lie below the water. Light reflected off
a lake is partially polarized in a direction parallel to the water's surface.
Fishermen know that the use of glare-reducing sunglasses with the proper
polarization axis allows for the blocking of this partially polarized light. By
blocking the plane-polarized light, the glare is reduced and the fisherman
can more easily see fish located under the water.

Applications of Polarisers
1 . Polaroid Sunglasses

 Polaroid sunglasses are glasses containing lens with polarising filters with
transmission axes that are vertically oriented
o This means the glasses do not allow any horizontally polarised light to
pass through

Polaroid sunglasses contain vertically oriented polarising filters which block out any
horizontally polarised light

 When light is reflected from a reflective surface e.g. the surface of water or a wet
road, it undergoes partial plane polarisation
o This means if the surface is horizontal, a proportion of the reflected light will
oscillate more in the horizontal plane than the vertical plane
 Therefore, polaroid sunglasses are useful in reducing the glare on the surface of the
water (or any reflective surface) as the partially-polarised light will be eliminated by
the polarising filter
 As a result of this, objects under the surface of the water can be viewed more clearly
 When sunlight reflects off a horizontal reflective surface, such as water, the light
becomes horizontally polarised. This is where polaroid sunglasses come in useful with
their vertically aligned filter

2. Polaroid Photography

 Polaroid cameras work in the same way as polaroid sunglasses

o They are very useful for capturing intensified colour and reducing glare on
particularly bright sunny days
 Polarising filters also enable photographers to take photos of objects underwater
o This is because the light reflected on the surface of the water is partially
polarised in the horizontal plane
o This glare is eliminated by the polarising lens
o However, the light from the underwater object is refracted by the surface of
the water, not reflected, so it is not plane-polarised
o Therefore, the light from the underwater object is more intense than the
glare and shows up much more brightly in the photo

As well as giving a cool look to photographs, polaroid filters are extremely useful for
reducing glare in photos and snapping pictures of objects underwater

3. Polarisation of Radio & Microwave Signals

 Radio and television services are broadcast either horizontally-polarised or

vertically-polarised
 Therefore, the reception aerial needs to be mounted flat (horizontal), or on its side
(vertical),
o The particular orientation of an aerial will depend on the transmitter it is
pointing towards and the polarity of the services being broadcast
 Broadcasting towers always transmit either vertically or horizontally polarised
signals. This is why aerials must be positioned accordingly otherwise they won’t pick up
the TV signal correctly

Worked problems :

Q 1 : Polarisation can only occurs in transverse waves explain why ?

Answer : This is because transverse waves oscillate in any plane perpendicular to the
propagation direction

Q2 : write down some application of polarisation ?

Answer:
Following are the applications of polarization:

 Polarization is used in sunglasses to reduce the glare.

 Polaroid filters are used in plastic industries for performing stress analysis tests.
 Three-dimensional movies are produced and shown with the help of polarization.
 Polarization is used for differentiating between transverse and longitudinal waves.
 Infrared spectroscopy uses polarization.
 It is used in seismology to study earthquakes.
 In Chemistry, the chirality of organic compounds is tested using polarization techniques.
STUDENT book IAL edexcel