Polarization characterizes the oscillations in time the electromagnetic field is doing in the plane perpendicular to the propagation direction of a wave
Questions tagged [polarization]
1274 questions
181
votes
7 answers
Why do we actually see the sun?
I haven't yet gotten a good answer to this: If you have two rays of light of the same wavelength and polarization (just to make it simple for now, but it easily generalizes to any range and all polarizations) meet at a point such that they're 180…
user22862
123
votes
7 answers
Why is the $S_{z} =0$ state forbidden for photons?
If photons are spin-1 bosons, then doesn't quantum mechanics imply that the allowed values for the z-component of spin (in units of $\hbar$) are -1, 0, and 1?
Why then in practice do we only use the $\pm 1$ states?
I have been told that this is…
Todd R
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55
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6 answers
Difference between spin and polarization of a photon
I understand how one associates the spin of a quantum particle, e.g. of a photon, with intrinsic angular momentum. And in electromagnetism I have always understood the polarization of an EM wave as the oscillations of the E and M field, not…
user929304
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48
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6 answers
Why can adding more polarization filters increase the amount of light that goes through them?
I am having some difficulty accepting the implications of the equation governing the intensity of light passing through polarization filters,
$$ I = I_0 \space\cos^2\theta $$
with $\theta$ being the angular difference between the two…
psitae
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46
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What is the reason that Quantum Mechanics is random?
We know quantum mechanics gives a random result when we observe a particle that's in a superposition, but why is it random? One of the explanations I've heard is that because light comes with those discrete energy packets called photons, when a…
Andrew.Wolphoe
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45
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5 answers
Difference between electric field $\mathbf E$ and electric displacement field $\mathbf D$
$$\mathbf D = \varepsilon \mathbf E$$
I don't understand the difference between $\mathbf D$ and $\mathbf E$.
When I have a plate capacitor, a different medium inside will change $\mathbf D$, right?
$\mathbf E$ is only dependent from the charges…
kame
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45
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3 answers
How do Optically Active Compounds Rotate Plane Polarized Light?
I am not sure if this is more of a Chemistry or a Physics question, but in my Organic Chem class we discussed that chiral molecules will rotate plane polarized light. However, my professor did not discuss the mechanism at all. She also said that…
Dylankw
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43
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5 answers
How can any light get past a polarizer?
The sun sends out unpolarized light. There are infinite degrees in which these photons are oriented. A polarizer only lets in light of one specific orientation.
In statistics, the infinitesimal area/slice of a single value in a continuous…
kevinbuiied
- 559
43
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7 answers
Three polarizers, 45° apart
If light is passed through two polarizing filters before arriving at a target, and both of the filters are oriented at 90° to each other, then no light will be received at the target. If a third filter is added between the first two, oriented at a…
vaindil
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35
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2 answers
Are the fast axes on Thorlabs quarter-waveplates mislabeled?
Some members of my lab are performing a polarization-sensitive experiment where they need to use a quarter-waveplate (QWP) with the fast axis in a specific direction. In the process of carefully checking all the polarization optics, they discovered…
ARM
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31
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1 answer
What happens if you remove the polarization filter from a computer monitor?
Have a look at this youtube video (and some extra footage here). Here I will post a gif showing in short what it is about:
It shows that if you remove the polarizing filter from a pc's monitor and you place it on a pair of glasses, you obtain a…
glS
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28
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3 answers
Why is reflected light polarised?
Why is reflected light polarised?
I have learnt about Brewster's angle, and how at a particular angle all light reflected is polarised, but do not understand why. Is this something that could be explained to a guy that doesn't have a Ph.D in…
28
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1 answer
Why does the intensity of unpolarized light reduce to half after passing it through a polarizer?
When unpolarized light is polarized with two polarizers, the intensity becomes $I=I_0\cos^2(θ)$ (Malus's law). But when unpolarized light is polarized with only one polarizer, the intensity is reduced to half the intensity of the unpolarized light.…
Nic
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26
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2 answers
What is polarisation, spin, helicity, chirality and parity?
Polarisation, spin, helicity, chirality and parity keep confusing me. They seem to be related, but exactly how they are related is unclear to me. Can someone maybe give a short overview about what these quantities mean and how they are related? What…
asmaier
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24
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How can we interpret polarization and frequency when we are dealing with one single photon?
If polarization is interpreted as a pattern/direction of the electric-field in an electromagnetic wave and the frequency as the frequency of oscillation, how can we interpret polarization and frequency when we are dealing with one single photon?
Phyllipe
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