Polarization: Electromagnetic Waves

Polarization
Electromagnetic Waves
MRINAL DURGESH
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE
Interference and diffraction proved that
light is a wave in nature.
They do not give any information about lo
ngitudinal and transverse nature of light
or anything about vibration of electric f
ield.
In general all kind of wave under suitabl
e conditions exhibit interference and dif
fraction.
In 1816 Arago and Fresnel showed that lig
ht waves vibrating mutually perpendicular
Light
is a transverse EM wave made up o
f mutually perpendicular electric and m
agnetic field.
As electric field vector points perpend
icular to line of propagation. Orientat
ion of electric field vary very randoml
y and very fast on a scale of
As a result the direction of oscillatio
n of the electric field vector in an or
dinary light beam occurs in all possibl
e plane perpendicular to direction prop
agation. It is called unpolarized light
Polarized light is the light wave with
a definite direction of oscillation of
the E-Vector, in which E Vector oscilla
tes in single plane or in some specific
way.
Polarized light does not produced in na
turally.
Representation . . .
Unpolariz Polarized
ed
WHY NATURAL LIGHT IS UNPOLARIZED?
Light emitted by ordinary source is emit
ted by large atomic emitters.
Each atom radiates, at a specific instan
t a wave packet that last for very small
time.
Light emitted by source is a mixture of
wave packets emitted at different time b
y different atoms.
Individual wave packet is polarized but
each has its own direction of oscillatio
n so each direction is likely to be pres
WHY NATURAL LIGHT IS UNPOLARIZED?
The concept of unpolarized light is rath
er difficult to visualize. Its looked up
on as consisting of an average of half h
orizontal polarized and half of vertical
ly polarized.
Due to randomness the amplitude of horiz
ontal and vertical component is taken to
be equal. Although they are incoherent a
nd has randomly changing phase.
TYPES OF POLARIZATION
Plane or linear polarization.
Circular polarization.
Elliptical polarization.
The shape or locus of tip of electric field.
PLANE OR LINEAR POLARIZED LIGHT
Plane polarization lies in one specific
plane and orientation does not change wi
th time.
If field oscillates up down, it is known
as vertical polarization and if it oscil
lates left right, it is known as horizon
tal polarization.
Electric field can be in any direction a
nd it can always be represented as combi
nation of horizontal and vertically pola
rized light.
These two components are in same phase a
PARTIALLY POLARIZED LIGHT
Partially polarized light is like a natu
ral light, only the amplitude of E Vecto
r is not same, thats why it is known a
s partially polarized light.
Depending upon the magnitude of E vector
, we define degree of polarization for p
artially polarized light.
Methods of Polarization
Selective absorption.
By reflection of light.
By refraction of light
By double refraction
By scattering of light.
SELECTIVE ABSORPTION
Many crystalline materials absorb more l
ight in one incident plane than other, s
o that light progressing through materia
l become more and more polarize as it pa
sses through it. This is called selectiv
e absorption.
Polaroid sheets or polarizer are the opt
ical elements, which use technique of se
lective absorptions to convert unpolariz
ed light into polarized light.
These sheets are fabricated as:-a clear
plastic sheet of polyvinyl alcohol is he
During stretching PVA molecules align th
emselves in the direction of stretching.
The sheet is then laminated to a rigid s
heet to stabilize the size.
Then it is exposed to Iodine vapour. The
iodine atoms attached themselves to the
long chain of PVA and forms long conduct
ing chains.
Iodine atom provide free electrons, whic
h can move easily along the chain but no
t perpendicular to the chain.
When light incident then the component p
Only component which is perpendicular to
molecular chain is transmitted, so the t
ransmitted light is polarized.
SELECTIVE ABSO
RPTION
Selective Absorption - Explan
ation
POLARIZING MATERIAL
A Polarizing material will only allow the passag
e of that component of the electric field parall
el to the polarization direction of the material
POLARIZER & UNPOLARIZED LIGHT
Each wave is attenuated by factor cos2.

Average attenuation is < cos2 > = 1/2
CROSSED POLARIZERS
The first polarizer reduces the intensity by half.

The second polarizer reduces the intensity by another
factor of cos 2.
The second polarizer projects the electric field onto
a new axis, rotated by from the axis of the first p
REFLECTION
Brewsters Angle
i P
r 90 - P
sin i
n
sin r
sin P sin P
n
sin (90 - P ) cos P
n tan P
When light incident on Brewsters angle
, the reflected beam is completely polar
ized and refracted beam is partially pol
arized.
This method is not advantageous as the i
ntensity of reflected light is very less
.
On bright sunny day the glare caused by
sunlight on road, water and snow field,
which almost blind us, is plane polarize
d light.
PURE REFRACTION OF LIGHT
REFRACTION
SCATTERING
Incident Light Ray
Scattered
Small Particle Light Ray

POLARIZATION BY SCATTERING
When an unpolarized light incident on th
e suspension of ultramicroscopic particl
e, the light scattered in all direction.
Incident light caused the electrons in s
cattering medium to vibrate.
Vibrating electron emit most light in a
direction perpendicular to its vibration
, so light scattered through 90 degree
to the incident light is strongly polari
zed.
Scattering of Sunlight
POLARIZATION BY SCATTERINGS
POLARIZATION BY DOUBLE REFRACTION
When a light beam incident on a isotropic
material such as glass it refract as a si
ngle ray, as the whole material has same
refractive index in all direction.
This because of regular periodic arrangem
ent of atoms in crystal.
If this arrangement is different in diffe
rent directions then many physical proper
ties like thermal conductivity, refractiv
e index and others, will be different in
different directions. Such material is kn
own as anisotropic material.
In such materials due to different refra
ctive index light goes in to double refr
active index as shown.
Out these two rays one follow Snell's la
w and other properties of ordinary refra
ction is called ordinary or O-ray and ot
her does not follow the rules and called
extraordinary or E-ray.
These light rays are polarized and mutua
lly perpendicular, one is vertically pol
arized and other is horizontally polariz
ed.
Out these two rays one follow Snell's la
w and other properties of ordinary refra
ction is called ordinary or O-ray and ot
her does not follow the rules and called
extraordinary or E-ray.
These light rays are polarized and mutua
lly perpendicular, one is vertically pol
arized and other is horizontally polariz
ed.
Calcite , tourmaline, quartz, mica, topa
z and aragonite are such materials.
NICOL-PRISM
Nicol prism is a polarizing device fabri
cated from a double refracting crystal o
f calcite crystal.
It is a rhomb of calcite crystal about t
hree times as long as it is thick. It ha
s two prism structure of crystal, cement
ed by canada balsam, because its refract
ive index lies between the refractive in
dex of calcite for e-ray and o-ray.
When unpolarized light incident on nicol
prism, it undergoes in double refraction
and split into e-ray and o-ray.
NICOL-PRISM
These rays falls on the canada balsam an
d due to refractive index and angle of i
ncidence e-ray is completely transmitted
and o-ray suffers TIR.
the surface on which o-ray falls after T
IR is blacked so that o-ray is completel
y absorbed and we get completely polariz
ed e-ray.
APPLICATION OF POLARIZED LIGHT
Sunglasses-Light reflected from surfaces
like a flat road or smooth water is gene
rally horizontally polarized. This horiz
ontally polarized light is blocked by th
e vertically oriented polarizers in the
lenses.

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Polarization

Each wave is attenuated by factor cos2.

The first polarizer reduces the intensity by half.

Small Particle Light Ray

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