POLARIZATION

A dissertation Submitted
in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of
B. Sc.

by
DIKSHA NEGI
Roll number=220150270044

to the
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
IPGGPG College of Commerce Haldwani
October 2024
 CERTIFICATE

It is certified that the work contained in the project dissertation

entitled
“Polarization ”, by Diksha Negi, in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of the degree of B. Sc., has been
carried out under my
supervision and that this work has not been submitted
elsewhere for a degree.

Hemlata Dharmashaktu
 DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the work presented in this dissertation

entitled
“ Polarization ” in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the
award of B. Sc. degree is a bonafide work carried out by me for
fifth semester under the supervision of Hemlata Dharmashaktu
This work has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of a
degree/diploma/certificate.

Diksha Negi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude

to my supervisor,
Hemlata Dharmashaktu , whose encouragement, guidance and
support during the course of the project enabled me to develop
an understanding of the subject. I thank her for detailed
discussions, constructive suggestions and continuous
motivation, without which this work would not have been
possible.

I would like to express my gratitude to ........................................

Diksha Negi
 ABSTRACT
Polarization is a fundamental concept in wave theory, especially within
the context of electromagnetic waves, where it describes the orientation
of oscillations in the electric field of the wave. In unpolarized light, the
electric field oscillates in multiple directions perpendicular to the direction
of propagation. However, through polarization, the electric field can be
confined to a single direction, thereby allowing for more control and
manipulation of the wave’s behavior. This can be achieved through
various methods such as reflection, refraction, and filtering through
polarizing materials, each of which selectively blocks certain orientations
of the wave.

The phenomenon of polarization has wide-reaching applications across

numerous scientific and technological fields. In optics, polarizing filters
are used to reduce glare, improve contrast in photography, and enhance
visibility in various imaging devices. In telecommunications, polarization
is exploited in the design of antennas and signal transmission systems,
allowing for efficient and interference-resistant communication channels.
Additionally, polarization plays a critical role in the study of materials and
surface properties, enabling the investigation of molecular structures, as
in the case of polarized light microscopy.

In physics, polarization extends beyond light to other types of waves,

such as sound waves and seismic waves, contributing to the
understanding of wave interactions and energy propagation in different
media. It also helps in exploring quantum mechanics, where phenomena
like quantum entanglement can be studied through the polarization
states of photons. As a result, polarization serves as a vital tool in
advancing the understanding of wave behavior, improving technological
innovations, and enhancing various practical applications in science and
engineering.

Table of contents
1. Introduction
2. Polarization
 Two Slit Analogy of Polarized Light
3. Types of Polarization
 Concept of Plane Polarized Light, Circularly and
Elliptically Polarized Light
4.Pictorial Representation of Plane Polarized Light
5.Plane of Vibration and Plane of Polarization of Plane
Polarized Light
6.Methods of Production of Plane Polarized Light
 Plane Polarized Light by Reflection
 Biot’s Polariscope
 Plane Polarized Light by Refraction (Piles of Plates
Method)
7.Malus Law
8. Summary
Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Waves are basically of two types; transverse waves and

longitudinal waves. A wave in which particles of the medium
oscillate to and fro, in the form of compression and rarefaction,
along the direction of wave propagation is called a longitudinal
wave, e.g., waves produced on string and sound waves. On
the other hand waves produced in ripples on water waves and
waves on a rope, in which every particle of the medium
oscillates up and down, in the form of trough and crest, at right
angles to the direction of wave propagation is called a
transverse wave. Interference, diffraction and polarization are
three major phenomenon exhibited by waves, out of these
three interference and diffraction are shown by any type of
wave whether longitudinal or transverse but polarization is
shown by only transverse wave. As light shows all three
phenomenon it is clear that light is a transverse wave
Chapter 2

POLARIZATION

The phenomenon of interference and diffraction has proved the

wave nature of light but it doesn’t tell us regarding the character
(whether longitudinal or transverse?) and nature of vibration of
light (whether linear, circular, elliptical or torsional). It is the
phenomenon of polarization that shows that light wave is
definitely transverse in nature. Light wave is a transverse
electromagnetic wave made up of mutually perpendicular,
fluctuating electric and magnetic fields vibrating perpendicular to
each other as well as direction of propagation too.

In general, natural light is unpolarized in nature, i.e., it consists of

a very large number of wavelength with electric vector vibrates in
all possible planes with equal probability when ordinary light is
allowed to pass through tourmaline crystal, the vibration of
electric field are confined only to one direction in a plane
perpendicular to the direction of propagation of light. This light
which has acquired the property of one sidedness and whose
electric field vibration lacks in symmetry called polarized light.
 This polarization of light means departure from complete
symmetry about the direction of propagation. Let us explain the
concept of polarization using two slit analogy and their optical
equivalent.

Two Slit Analogy of Polarized Light

Let S1 and S2 be the two slit adjacent to each other. A string AB
passing through the slit and attached to a fixed point at B. Now if
we move the end A of the string up and down perpendicular to
AB, the string vibrates and a transverse wave propagates along
CD. If slit S2is placed parallel to S1vibration passing through S1
and S1 reach the end B without any change in amplitude . Now
let us rotate slit S2 as S2 becomes perpendicular to S1, the
vibration pass through the slitst1 undisturbed as before but are
not able to pass through S2 and therefore the string does not
vibrate between S2 and B .

In the intermediate positions of the slit S2the vibration are

partially transmitted and partly stopped, reaching the end B with
diminished amplitude. The variation of amplitude as the rotating
slit S2 is only because of transverse vibration in the string. On the
other hand the end A is moved to and fro parallel to the length of
the string instead of up and down setting longitudinal vibration,
we see that the rotation of any of the slide about AB as axis does
not affect the passage of vibrations and hence vibration reach at
B with undiminished amplitude. Therefore we can say that
variation in amplitude of vibration passing through S2 on rotation
of S2 signifies the transverse vibration of the string.
Now if we replace the slit with tourmaline crystal and string with a
source of light, exactly similar phenomenon is observed (Figure
10.2). When light from source S falls in a tourmaline crystal A cut
parallel to its crystal axis the emergent light is slightly coloured.
Now if we place a similar cut crystal B in the path of beam
partially to the axis of crystal A we observed that emerging light is
still coloured and the intensity is maximum. If now keeping crystal
‘A’ fixed we rotate the crystal B about the axis the intensity
decreases and becomes zero when B is perpendicular to A. By
further rotation light reappears and becomes maximum again
when ‘A’ and ‘B’ again becomes parallel.
This variation in amplitude proves that light is transverse in
nature. Whereas, if it is longitudinal, there shouldn’t be any
variation by rotating the crystals discussed in two slit analogy. It
also shows that light vibration after passing through rotating slit
are not symmetrical about the direction of propagation.
Chapter 3

TYPES OF POLARIZATION

The polarization of a light wave describes the shape and locus of

the tip of the E vector at a given point in space as a function of
time. Depending upon the locus of the tip of the E vector light
may be exhibit three different states of polarization. They are

1. Plane polarized light

2. Circularly polarized light
3. Elliptically polarized light
Apart from these the light may also be partially polarized.

CONCEPT OF PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT,

CIRCULARLY POLARIZED LIGHT AND ELLIPTICALLY
POLARIZED LIGHT

As we know that light is an electromagnetic wave consist of

mutually perpendicular electric and magnetic field vector both
are vibrating perpendicular to the direction of propagation of
light wave. Also electric vector is dominating and is responsible
for optical effects of wave hence the electric vector is also
 called light vector.

As mentioned earlier, unpolarized light have vibrations along all

possible straight lines perpendicular to the direction propagation
the light. Light which has acquired property of one sidedness is
called polarized light. Therefore plane polarized light is not
symmetrical about the direction of propagation but the vibrations
of light vector (electric vector) are confined to a single direction
i.e. along a line of course perpendicular to direction of
propagation also known as linearly polarized light. We can also
say that in plane or linearly polarized light the magnitude of light
vector changes but its orientation remains unchanged. Usually
light is a mixture of plane polarized light and unpolarized light,
known as partially plane polarized.
On the other hand a light wave is circularly polarized if the
magnitude of light vector remains constant but its orientation
rotates at a constant rate about the direction of propagation so
that the tip of the light vector traces a circle. It completes one
evolution within one wavelength. Circularly polarized wave may
be considered as the result of superposition of two mutually
perpendicular plane polarized waves having equal amplitude but
a phasedifference of 90°. If rotation of tip of light vector E is seen
clockwise it is called right circularly polarized light if it rotates
anticlockwise the wave is said to be left circularly polarized light.

Similarly a light wave is called elliptically polarized if the

magnitude of light vector as well as its orientation changes about
the direction of propagation so that the tip of the light. Vector
traces an ellipse. Elliptically polarized wave may be considered
as the result of superposition of two mutually perpendicular plane
polarized waves having different amplitude and not in same
phase

Like circularly polarized light if rotation of tip of light vector E is

seen clockwise it is called right elliptically polarized light if it
rotates anticlockwise the wave is said to be left elliptically
polarized light.
Chapter 4

PICTORIAL REPRESENTATION OF PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT

Ordinary or unpolarized light obtained from any source consists

of vibration of electric field vector in al possible plane
perpendicular to the beam direction i.e. the electric field vibrations
are symmetrical. Unpolarized light can be considered as
consisting of two sets of vibrations-one set vibrating in one plane
and other perpendicular to it. It may also be represented
respectively by arrows and dots. Hence unpolarized lights
pictorially represented end view would be as shown .
In a plane polarized light the vibrations of electric vector are along
a single straight line thus having departure of complete
symmetry. When electric field vector or light vector of plane
polarized light has vibration in the plane of the paper they are
represented by arrows as shown . When the vibrations of light
vector are in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper
they are represented by dots as shown
Chapter 5
PLANE OF VIBRATION AND PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF
PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT

As discussed earlier plane polarized light may be defined as the

light in which the electric vector or light vector vibrates along a
fixed straight line in a plane perpendicular to the direction of
propagation. However to define the properties of plane polarized
light completely we have to define two planes, one containing the
vibrations and other perpendicular to it, as the properties of plane
polarized light differ with respect to these two planes. The plane
containing the direction of vibration and direction of propagation
or the plane in which the vibration takes place is called the plane
of vibrations and a plane perpendicular to plane of vibration is
called plane of polarization. We can also define plane of
polarization as the plane passing through the direction of
propagation and containing no vibrations.
Chapter 6
METHODS OF PRODUCTION OF PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT

Plane polarized light may be produced from unpolarized light

using one of the five optical phenomena listed as below:

1. Polarization by reflection (example – Biot’s polariscope)

2. Polarization by refraction (example piles of plates method)
3. Polarization by double refraction (example-Nicol prism)
4. Polarization by selective absorption or dichroism (example-
Polaroids)
5. Polarization by scattering (example-light from a blue sky)

PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT BY REFLECTION

Producing plane polarized light by reflection is the simplest

way. In 1808 EL. Malus. Noticed that when natural or
unpolarized light is incident on a transparent medium like glass
or water the reflected light is partially plane polarized. The
degree of polarization depends upon the incident angle on the
surface and upon the material of the surface. At a certain angle
of the incidence depending upon the nature of the reflecting
surface the reflected light is. Completely plane polarized. This
angle of incidence is called angle of polarization or polarizing
angle.
Here it must be noted that light reflected from the metallic surface
contained a variety of vibration directions; i.e. reflected light from
metallic surface is unpolarized. But if light is reflected from
dielectric surface such as glass, water ete. Is linearly polarized. If
the extent of linear polarization is large enough as glare from field
of snow on bright sunny day, its glare from the surface may be
almost blinding to human eye.
When light wave is incident on a boundary between two dielectric
materials, part of it is reflected and part of it is transmitted. Let a
beam of unpolarized light incident along AB on a glass surface
YY’ and reflected as BC. To show that reflected light is plane
polarized a tourmaline crystal is placed in the path of reflected ray
BC and rotated about BC as axis. It is observed that the
transmitted light shows variation in intensity. It proves partial
plane polarized nature of reflected ray. At polarizing angle of
incidence, reflected ray from crystal is almost completely
extinguished shows that maximum percentage of plane polarized
light. Further rotation about BC as axis, the intensity of reflected
beam through crystal is twice maximum and minimum in one
complete rotation depending upon whether axis of crystal is
perpendicular or parallel to plane of incidence respectively. It
indicates that the light vibration in reflected beam is perpendicular
to plane of incidence.

However this particular method of polarizing light is not very

advantageous as only a small portion of incident beam is
reflected therefore the intensity of the reflected beam is very
small.

Biot’s Polariscope

It is a simple instrument for producing and detecting plane

polarized light by reflection. In place of tourmaline crystal Biot’s
polariscope consists of two glass plates P_{1} and P_{2} To
Avoid internal reflection and absorb refracted light both the plates
are painted back on their back surfaces. A monochromatic light
ray AB falls on plate P_{1} at polarizing angle and reflected
vertically upwards along BC and incident on other plate P_{2}
which is held parallel to P 1, also at polarizing angle and is
reflected along CD. When the plate P_{2} is gradually rotated
about BC as axis the angle of incidence on plate P_{2} is still
same. Intensity of reflected ray CD decreases and becomes zero
for a rotation of 90 ^ 0 of plate P_{2} On further rotation of P_{2}
intensity of CD goes maximum at 180 ^ 0 and then decreases till
270 ^ 0 where it again becomes zero and becomes again
maximum at 360 degree

As the beam AB is incident on P_{1} at polarizing angle, the

reflected beam BC is completely plane polarized with its vibration
perpendicular to the plane of incidence. When P_{2} is parallel to
P_{1} (when P_{2} is rotated through 180 ^ 0 or 360 ^ 0 ) the
vibrations of BC are perpendicular to the plane of incidence
therefore ray BC is completely reflected as Ray CD and intensity
is maximum but when P_{2} is perpendicular to P_{1} (when
P_{2} is rotated through 90 deg or 180 ^ 0 ) vibrations of BC are
parallel to the plane of incidence with respect to plate P_{2}
therefore no light is reflected.

As the plate P_{1} causes the beam BC to be polarized and P_{2}

for analyzing the polarized light, plate P_{1} is known as polarizer
and P_{2} as analyzer.

PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT BY REFRACTION (PILES OF

PLATES MET
As stated before when light wave is incident on a boundary
between two a dielectric material, part of it is reflected and part of
it is transmitted. When polarized light is incident at Brewster
angle on a smooth glass surface, the reflected light is totally
polarized while the refracted light is partially polarized. If
unpolarized light is transmitted through a single plate, the
transmitted beam is only partially polarized contains vibrations
parallel as well as perpendicular to plane of incidence.
By increasing the number of plates more and more vibration
perpendicular to the plane of incidence are reflected from
successive surfaces resulting the filtering of from transmitted ray
(figure 10.9). Consequently the refracted or transmitted beam
gets richer and richer in the percentage of and ultimately the
transmitted light is free from perpendicular vibration and consists
of plane polarized vibrations parallel to plane of incidence only.
The piles of plates consists of a number of thin glass plates
supported in a tube of suitable size and inclined at an angle of
about 33 ^ 0 to the axis of the tube. A beam of monochromatic
light is incident at polarizing angle. The reflected as well as the
transmitted beams of light are plane polarized parallel to the
plane of incidence,

The graph shows the increase in intensity of the reflected light

with increased number of plates (figure 10.10). However it serves
no purpose to increase the number of plates after nearly 90% of
the incident light is reflected.

If I_{p} and I_{d} denote the intensities of components with the

vibrations parallel and perpendicular to the plane of incidence
respectively in the transmitted light, then degree of polarization or
proportion of polarization is given by P = (l_{p} – l_{d})/(l_{p} +
l_{d}) and % polarization is given by

(I_{p} – I_{d})/(I_{n} + I_{d}) * 100

For plane polarized light l_{d} = 0 hence P=1 and polarization is
100%. For unpolarized light I_{p} = I_{d} hence P = 0 and %
polarization 2007 worned out by Provastaye and Desains
N + ((zji)/(z – mu ^ 2)) ^ 2
Where n is number of plates and u is the refractive index of the
material.
However the concept of the degree of polarization cannot be
applied to elliptically and circularly polarized light.
Chapter 7

MALUS LAW

It is observed that whenever a plane polarized light falls on a

rotating analyzer the intensity of light coming out from analyzer
changes. Malus explains it by stating that “when plane polarized
light falls on an analyzer the intensity of light coming out from the
analyzer is proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle
between the directions of transmission of the analyzer and the
direction of vibration of electric vector in incident light.
Mathematically Malus law can be expressed as

Where I is the intensity of incident polarized light, 0 is the angle

between the direction of transmission of analyzer and polarizer.
Proof: Let A be the amplitude of the plane polarized light incident
on analyzer and 0 be angle between the plane of polarizer and
analyzer. The amplitude A may be resolved into two components
A cose & A sine which are parallel and perpendicular to the plane
of transmission of analyzer respectively (Fig. 11.12). As A cos 0
is parallel to the plane of transmission of analyzer it will be
transmitted while component A sin & will be blocked. Therefore
intensity of transmitted beam I = (A * cos theta) ^ 2 = A ^ 2 *
cos^2 theta = I_{0} * cos^2 theta Where I_{0} = A ^ 2 is the
intensity of incident plane polarized light. This proves the Malus
law.

However Malus law doesn’t hold good for unpolarized light as

angle 0 made by electric field vector with the plane of
transmission is not constant for unpolarized light. As in
unpolarized light the light vector vibrates in all possible direction
in a plane perpendicular to direction by propagation. We have to
put average value of cos’e over all possible values of 6. Thus the
intensity of the beam transmitted from the polarizing sheet is
given by

1 = l_{0} * cos^2 theta = ½ * I_{0}

As the average value of cos’ over all possible values of 9 is ½
hence only 50% of incident unpolarized light is transmitted as
plane polarized light by ideal polarizer.

When planes of polarizer and analyzer are parallel to each other

the transmitted light is maximum. As in this case theta = 0 ^ 0
hence I = I_{0} * cos^2 theta = I_{0} * (cos 0) ^ 2 = I_{0} Also
when planes of polarizer and analyzer are perpendicular to each
other the transmitted

Light is zero. As in this case 0 – 90 ^ 0 hence I=I 0 cos^ dot 2

theta = I_{0} * (cos 90 deg) ^ 2 = 0
Chapter 8
SUMMARY

Polarization is the property which shows that light is a transverse

wave. It not only tells the character of light wave but also tells
whether the vibrations are linear, circular or elliptical. Generally
light coming from a common light source is upolarized however
can be transformed into different types of polarization.
Unpolarized light is symmetrical while in polarized light electric
field vibration deviates from completely symmetry and vibrates in
single direction. Superposition of two mutually perpendicular
plane polarized wave of equal amplitude and phase difference of
90º gives rise to circularly polarized light while different amplitude
and any phase difference give rise to elliptically polarized light.

Plane polarized light can be obtained by many different methods

like reflection, refraction, double refraction, dichroism and
scattering. Brewster showed that reflected light is completely
polarized at particular angle of incidence is called angle of
polarization. He also showed that tangent of angle of polarization
is equal to the refractive index of the medium. On the other hand
Malus explains changes in intensity of light coming out from
analyzer by stating that intensity of light coming out from the
analyzer is proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle
between the directions of transmission of the analyzer and the
direction of vibration of electric vector in incident light.
 GLOSSARY

 Longitudinal Wave: A wave in which particles of the

medium oscillate to and fro, in the form of compression
and rarefaction, along the direction of wave propagation.
 Transverse Wave: A wave in which every particle of the
medium oscillates up and down, in the form of trough and
crest, at right angles to the direction of wave propagation.
 Unpolarized Light: The light in which the light vector
(Electric vector) vibrates in all possible direction ie.
Symmetrical about direction of propagation.
 Polarized Light: The light, which acquired the property of
one sidedness i.e. departure from complete symmetry.
 Plane Polarized Light: The light in which the light vector
(Electric vector) vibrates along a fixed straight line in a
plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
 Plane of Vibration: The plane containing the direction of
vibration and direction of propagation or the plane in which
the vibration takes place
 Plane of Polarization: A plane perpendicular to plane of
vibration. It can also be defined as the plane passing
through the direction of propagation and containing no
vibrations.
 Angle of Polarization: It is the angle of incidence on the
surface of a given transparent medium for which the
reflected light is completely plane polarized.
  Polarizer: An optical device used to convert unpolarized
light into polarized light. Analyzer: Optical device which is
used to analyze polarized light is called analyzer

REFERENCE BOOK

1. Optics by Ajoy GhataJl

2. A textbook of Optics by Brij Lal and Dr. N. Subrahmnyam 3.

Optics by Dr. S.P. Singh and Dr. J.P. Agarwal

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Fundamental of Optics by F. A. Jenkins and H. E. White.

2. The Feynman Lectures on Physics by Richard Feynman

3. Optics by Eugene Hecht