Lab Manual
Lab Manual
Lab Manual
Among the most fundamental questions one can ask are: How is light scattered? How much
light is reflected from an interface? Is the nature of scattered or reflected light different from
the incident light? We’ll explore these questions in this lab.
It will be helpful for us to remember that light is an electromagnetic wave, with mu-
tually perpendicular electric and magnetic fields. We’ll especially learn that it is useful to
think of the vector representing the electric field as being made up of mutually orthogonal
components. The direction of oscillation of an electric field vector is the direction of linear
polarization, which can be changed by changing the relative magnitudes and phases of the
components of the electric field.
The concept of polarization is the key to numerous applications, and because of this, we
want you to thoroughly understand this concept. Section 4.3 contains information to aid your
understanding of light scattering, of the reflection of light from an interface, and the effect
of polarization on these processes. The propagation of polarized light can be visualized
with the help of the CUPS software, EMWave, that has been placed on the laboratory
computers. The concept of polarization is discussed further in the next lab on polarization
and polarization devices.
4.1 Goals
In the first part of this lab you will measure the angular distribution and polarization of
scattered light and try to interpret these measurements in terms of ”electric dipole radiation”.
In the second part of the lab you will test Fresnel’s prediction for the reflectance of p- and
s-polarized light from a dielectric surface as a function of angle of incidence. Along the way
you will learn about total internal reflection and polarization upon reflection (which involves
total transmission and Brewster’s angle).
Specifically, after finishing this experiment, we expect you to be able to do the following:
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Figure 3: The electric field due to a positive charge with retarded acceleration a
• Read the Sections 4.3) through 4.5) on background, equipment and procedures, and
then write down any questions that you may have about these sections. Make sure to
ask these questions before the lab period begins!
4.3 Background
4.3.1 Scattering of Polarized Light
When linearly polarized light is incident on a scattering medium, the charges (the bound
atomic electrons) in the medium start to oscillate in the direction of the electric field, i.e., in
the direction of polarization, and at the frequency of the incident light. These oscillating (i.e.,
accelerating) charges produce their own radiation which is the scattered light. A diagram of
the electric field corresponding to the scattered light is shown in Figure 3. In terms of the
projection of the acceleration of the oscillating point charge q perpendicular to the direction
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Figure 4: A polar plot of the radiation field due to a non-relativistic charge. Note that this
charge radiates most strongly at right angles to its acceleration.
of observation, a⊥ , the electric field of the scattered light at a large distance r (where r >> λ)
from the charge for non-relativistic motion is given by
q a⊥ (tret )
E(r, t) = − , (1)
4π#o c2 r
where tret = t− rc is the retarded time. Eq. (1) expresses an important result: the scattered
light is polarized in the direction of a⊥ . If we denote the angle that the direction of
observation makes with the direction of acceleration by θ, then a⊥ = a sin θ. The irradiance
of the scattered light from the accelerating charge when observed at a distance r and at an
angle θ from the direction of polarization of the incident light is then
q 2 "a2ret # sin2 θ
I(r, θ) = #o c < E 2 >= , (2)
16π 2 #o c3 r2
where < . . . > denotes the time average. This irradiance pattern, also known as the radiation
pattern, is shown in Fig. 4.
For a sinusoidal plane wave, we have "a2 # = 12 ω 4 zo2 , where zo is the amplitude of os-
cillations. Thus we obtain another important result: the scattered light intensity is
proportional to the fourth power of the frequency. Therefore, light of higher fre-
quency (e.g., blue light) scatters more strongly than light of lower frequency (e.g., red light).
This is the reason that the Earth’s sky (away from the sun) appears blue – much more blue
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light is scattered from the Earth’s atmosphere (and therefore, scattered into your eyes on the
Earth’s surface) than is red light2 . This is also the reason that sunrises and sunsets appear
reddish-yellow: most of the blue light gets scattered when passing through a relatively long
path through the atmosphere at these times of the day.3
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In the case of conductors, there are free electrons which can be driven into oscillation
by light of all frequencies. However, the scattered radiation is 180◦ out of phase with the
incident light, leading to destructive interference (cancellation) with the incident light in
the forward direction. In the backward direction, this out-of-phase radiation shows up as a
reflected wave due to constructive interference. Some light is also converted into heat via
free electron-atom collisions. The color of reflected light from most metals (except gold and
copper, which also display selective absorption) is grayish-white because of all frequencies
tend to reflect equally well. Reflection from a metal surface produces different phase shifts for
the different components (parallel or perpendicular to the plane of incidence) of the incident
light. Consequently, a linearly polarized light wave impinging on a metal surface is converted
upon reflection into elliptically polarized light. Such is not the case with dielectrics, which
maintain the polarization of the incident light.
When θi > θc , there is no real (in the mathematical sense) solution for the angle of refraction
and all of the incident light is reflected into the medium with index n1 .
The phenomenon of total internal reflection is important for fiber optic communication
technology because one would like the light signal that is carrying data to travel without at-
tenuation through the fiber optic. Because cables made of optical fibers, practically speaking,
must be bent, the light will impinge on the fiber-air interface. If some of the light escapes,
the remaining signal will be weaker and will need to be boosted at different points along the
cable. It therefore pays to make sure that the light signal impinges on the fiber-air interface
at an angle greater than the critical angle so that nearly all the light is reflected back into the
fiber instead of being lost. This allows communications companies to build fewer “repeater
stations” to amplify the fading signals, thereby saving money. Repeater stations these days
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Figure 5: Light transmission into a less optically dense medium.
are specially made sections of fiber that act as amplifiers. The neat thing here is that the
process is almost entirely optical, meaning that the optical signal is not converted to an
electrical signal which is amplified and then converted back to an optical signal. For more
details, see the article written by the Morrisons which appeared in the July 1997 issue of
Scientific American.
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Figure 6: Light impinging on a dielectric at Brewster’s angle.
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The reason for this is easy to understand once we realize that the expected direction
of reflection (θr = θi ) in this case is at right angles to the direction of refraction. Also
remember that reflected light is not the incident light somehow redirected, but is generated
by the oscillations of charges (dipole radiation) in the refracting material. Because light is
a transverse wave, these dipole oscillations are at right angles to the refracted ray and are
therefore in the direction of expected reflection. But there is no radiation along the dipole
axis (because light is a transverse wave), and so there is no reflected wave. Consequently
there is total transmission in this case. Now if the incident light is unpolarized (which can
be regarded as an equal, uncorrelated mixture of E# and E⊥ polarizations) the reflected light
will contain only E⊥ polarization. The required angle of incidence θB (named after Brewster)
can be calculated from the Brewster’s condition:
θB + θt = 90◦ . (4)
By Snell’s law,
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shown with encircled dark points. It can be shown (see Hecht, Section 4.6.2) that the ratio
of intensities of reflected to incident light for the two polarizations are
I# tan2 (θi − θt )
R# = = (8)
I0 tan2 (θi + θt )
I⊥ sin2 (θi − θt )
R⊥ = = (9)
I0 sin2 (θi + θt )
The graphs for these functions are shown in Fig. ?? along with the graphs for transmitted
light intensity given by T = 1 − R. Notice that for θi + θt = 90◦ , R# = 0 because tan(θi + θt )
diverges to infinity as θi + θt approaches 90◦ . This special angle of incidence for which R#
becomes zero is denoted by θB and is called Brewster’s angle, or the polarization angle, as
previously shown in Fig. 6. By measuring θi and determining θt for every θi using Snell’s
law, we can calculate the right side of the above equations (Eq. 8 and Eq. 9). Using a
photodetector to measure the power of the reflected and incident light, and then calculating
the ratio of these quantities, we can determine the left sides of the above equations. By
comparing the experimentally determined left sides to the theoretically determined right
sides, we test the validity of Fresnel’s equations.
4.4 Equipment
For the scattering experiment, you’ll need:
• a laser holder
• a prism spectrometer modified to mount a test tube at its rotation axis and a photode-
tector on its rotating arm
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Figure 7: Definitions of reflected and transmitted wave amplitudes
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Figure 8: Calculated ratios of reflected and transmitted intensities to incident intensity for
light impinging on glass from air.
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• a power meter (or an oscilloscope)
• a semicylindrical prism
• linear polarizers
• a prism spectrometer modified to mount a test tube at its rotation axis and a photode-
tector on its rotating arm
4.5 Procedures
Flow Chart for Doing Lab #1
For undergraduate credit, measure only R# . For graduate credit, measure both R# and R⊥ .
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polarization of the scattered light. You can also, qualitatively, check the (inverse square)
decrease of irradiance if you move the detector along a radial line from the tube.
If you now replace the polarized light beam by an unpolarized light beam, you will find
that the light scattered at 90◦ from the beam direction is still polarized. However, if you
keep on adding more drops of milk, the scattered light ultimately does not show polarization.
That happens because of multiple scattering – that is, further scattering of scattered light
when the size or the concentration of the scatterers becomes large. An example of this is
that waxed paper almost completely depolarizes incident polarized light. You can check this
by inserting a piece of waxed paper between two crossed polarizers. Another example is that
sunlight scattered from a white cloud is not polarized.
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Figure 9: The experimental arrangement for measuring the critical angle
• Give a graph for angular dependence of scattered radiation as a function of angle from
the direction of polarization of the incident radiation.
• Give your result for the critical angle θc , Brewster’s angle θB , and present your re-
flectivity graph (namely, reflectance versus incident angle for parallel polarization of
incident light).
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Worksheet for Scattering and Reflection
1. Predict the critical angle for light incident from the water side of a water-air interface
and also for light incident from the glass side of a glass-air interface. You must choose
the type of glass and tell what its refractive index is, and where one can find that
information. How would you experimentally test your prediction for the case of water?
2. Predict the Brewster’s angle for light incident of a flat water surface and for light
incident on a flat glass surface. Again, you must choose the type of glass and tell what
its refractive index is, and where one can find that information.
3. For light incident on glass and polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence, is the
predicted reflected intensity ever zero? How about for light polarized parallel to the
plane of incidence?
4. For which polarization, and at what angle of incidence, is there 100 percent transmis-
sion when light impinges on water of refractive index 1.33? In what application is this
phenomenon used for?
5. In terms of a dipole (or accelerated charge) model, explain in your own words the
phenomenon of polarization by reflection. Use any pictures or drawings that you think
help to clarify your explanation.
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Post-Lab Questions
1. What would be the color of the lunar sky during the lunar day time? Would it be
blue?
2. Light from an unpolarized light beam impinges on a sample of gas. Some of the
incident light is scattered through a 90◦ angle (relative to the direction of the original
unpolarized light beam) and is found to be polarized. Explain this finding.
3. In a darkened room, take a sideways look at a 50 mW (or greater power) laser beam
that is polarized, say horizontally. When you look at the beam in the direction of
polarization (horizontal), you don’t see the beam. But when you look at the beam
from the other transverse direction (vertical) you see it through the light scattered by
the dust in the room. Explain your observation.
4. Estimate the minimum radius of curvature that a circular coil of fiber optic cable can
have in order to maintain total internal reflection. Justify any numbers you use to
arrive at your estimate.
6. A rainbow is seen when the sun’s rays reach our eyes after undergoing an overall 138◦
deflection from their original direction. This deflection results from two refractions
and one internal reflection inside a raindrop. The angle of incidence of the rays that
undergo the internal reflection is 40◦ . Calculate R# and R⊥ for the water-air interface
and calculate the degree of polarization (R⊥ −R# )/(R⊥ +R# ) that results from reflection
at that interface.
Why is the light from the rainbow polarized tangential to the bow?
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