Polarization of Light

Laser light is passed through two polarizers. As the second polarizer (the analyzer) is rotated by hand, the relative light intensity is recorded as a function of the angle between the axes of polarization of the two polarizers. The angle is obtained using a Rotary Motion Sensor that is coupled to the polarizer with a drive belt. The plot of light intensity versus angle can be fitted to the square of the cosine of the angle allowing us to verify the Law of Malus.

Grade Level: College

Subject: Physics

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Polarization Experiment

The complete solution for verifying Malus’ Law of Polarization.

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Source Collection: Lab #04