Tagged Questions
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Reflection of a polarised beam
The past days I've been trying to understand how AutoFocus(AF) works on photographic cameras. There is a statement that says AF systems are polarisation sensitive. This means that they can only work ...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
39 views
How can a Jones vector give linear polarization along an axis?
If we represent a Jones vector by two complex-valued exponentials, $J_1 = e^{i \phi_1}$ and $J_2 = e^{i \phi_2}$, how can this ever give a polarization along the x-axis? We write such a polarization ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
double slit experiment with two opposite quarter waveplates
Consider the usual double slit experiment involving laser and a double slit and a screen. Now place in front of the left slit a quarter waveplate (let's call it QWP1) that changes a certain linear ...
5
votes
1answer
150 views
3D movie glasses making white light look red and blue
While waiting for a 3D movie to start, I was playing with the glasses they give you. I understand each lens has different polarized filters, so the left and right superimposed images on the screen go ...
4
votes
1answer
146 views
Filter out polarized light
Unpolarized light enters the polarizer and gets polarized at one certain angle. If we place an analyzer behind the polarizer and align them, we observe that all light is transmitted. If we rotate the ...
2
votes
1answer
104 views
How would one generate Brownian light? What would it look like?
When light is an equal mix of all visible frequencies, we call it white light.
By analogy, sound that is a mix of all audible frequencies is called white noise.
For sound, there is an additional ...
4
votes
2answers
206 views
Jones vector and matrices
With Jones vectors and matrices one can describe the change in polarization of a EM wave. What is the convention of the reference coordinate system; Is it fixed or does it change whenever the ...
9
votes
2answers
330 views
Circular polarization of variable-frequency light by 3D cinema glasses
A dominant method to obtain 3D images in the cinemas seems to be circular polarization. Separate pictures are projected with (alternating) circular polarization filters and passive glasses of the ...
1
vote
1answer
191 views
Are circular polarizations a basis for any light polarization?
I was trying to solve an exercise in classical optics, consisting in finding the type polarization of certain field profiles. And, by analyzing this one:
$$E_x(z,t) = |E|sin(kz-\omega t)\\
...
0
votes
3answers
319 views
Liquid crystal shutter with >90% transmission?
Today's liquid crystal shutter glasses, when in the "transparent" state, exhibit only 40% light transmission.
They work using two polarizer layers, one which is liquid crystal and goes {vertical ...
2
votes
1answer
331 views
What are the properties of the partially polarized light on refraction?
When a ray of ordinary light is passed on the surface of the water the reflected light will be completely polarized( vibrations in one plane).
My question is what will be plane of vibration in the ...
3
votes
2answers
92 views
Liquid crystal polarizes light reflection question
I was hoping someone could help me with understanding why a row of polarizes reflects a light wave when the whole row is the same length as the wavelength of the light.
I pretty much get the ...
2
votes
1answer
337 views
Why do polarized sunglasses remove (most) reflections on car windows?
Why do polarized sunglasses remove (most) reflections on car windows? I know that both lenses of polarized sunglasses are polarized in the same direction and I can see that reflections in my own ...
5
votes
1answer
169 views
Are two polarization states of light coherent?
Let's consider a situation: we have distant point source of unpolarized light in certain non-zero range of wavelengths (it's polychromatic). Let's divide this light into 2 beams depending on ...
2
votes
1answer
286 views
How to compute the intensity of a polarized wave going through a polaroid?
If an electromagnetic wave is linearly polarized, the intensity of the light that goes through a polaroid is proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle between the polarization plane and ...
3
votes
1answer
251 views
Polarization rotation: Jones Matrix that maps Horizontal to right circular
I am looking at the Poincaré sphere and I am trying to compute a Jones matrix for a particular rotation. Specifically, I would like it to perform the following maps:
$O :|H \rangle \rightarrow |R ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
Reflected optical rotation of polarised light
Assume polarised light travels through an optically active medium (e.g. water with lots of sugar) with the specific angle $\alpha_s$ of depth $d$ at which end it is reflected (so in total it travels ...
10
votes
2answers
3k views
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 ...
1
vote
0answers
185 views
What defines the thickness of a Nomarski prism?
Lets say I want to design a Nomarski prism that would split the ordinary and extraordinary beam by an angle of 0.32 mrad. I used a raytracer to find the internal angle between the quartz wedges.
...
2
votes
2answers
163 views
Intrigued about a polarizer effect
This comes from one of my physics course at university (many years ago!), I hope I recall it right.
We were studying optics, and were given some polarizer filters to experiment. They were disc- ...
6
votes
1answer
298 views
Where does the energy go, when light is blocked by polarisation
I've been looking around about LCD monitors, and how they polarise light. When a pixel needs to be black, the light is "twisted" so that it can't go through the polarising sheet in front.
What happens ...
3
votes
2answers
841 views
What is the effect of polarization on diffraction by a narrow slit?
Consider the well known demonstration of diffraction by a narrowing slit.
(See for example the demonstration at the 30 minute mark of this lecture at MIT by Walter Lewin)
It is my (possibly mistaken) ...
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vote
5answers
3k views
0
votes
1answer
176 views
Interaction of polarized beam to optical active substance
Kostyas question for angular momentum and half wave plates
Half wave plate and angular momentum
made me think a little bit. It took me some seconds to "swallow" the answer. :=)
Then I started to ...
4
votes
2answers
482 views
Half wave plate and angular momentum
Given:
A half wave plate freely floating in space.
Circularly polarized light, falling perpendicularly to it.
The plate changes polarisation of the beam to the opposite one. Therefore it ...
5
votes
3answers
510 views
How can we describe the polarization (of light) coming from an arbitrary angle?
In an optics lab, where all optical beams pretty much reside in a plane, it is fairly simple to describe (linear) polarizations as vertical or horizontal (or s and p).
When we start talking about ...
9
votes
4answers
710 views
What ways are there to measure the local polarization of a laser beam?
Measuring the polarization of a laser beam is a simple enough task if the polarization is the same everywhere. You can even buy commercial polarimeters.
How do you go about it if the light beam has ...
