Physics

Polarization
Academic Year: 2024 – 2025

Submi ed By: Raghav Bhasin

Grade: XII

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 CERTIFICATE

This is to cer fy that Raghav bhasin class XII has successfully completed the
inves gatory project on
"TO OBSERVE POLARISATION OF LIGHT" under my guidance. This project is
absolutely genuine and doesn't not involve in any kind of plagiarism. This is in
par al ful lment of Physics prac cal examina on CBSE 2024.

EXTERNAL'S SIGNATURE -

INTERNAL'S SIGNATURE -

PRINCIPAL'S SIGNATURE –

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 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gra tude to my teacher

(Neenu Ma’am) who gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic
(Polarisa on), which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I
came to know about so many new things. I am really thankful to them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped
me a lot in nalising this project within the limited me frame.

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 INDEX

1.Cer cate

2.Acknowledgment

3.Introduc on

4.Aim and apparatus

5.Principle and theory

6.Procedure

7.observa on

8.Conclusions

9.Bibliography

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 POLARISATION OF LIGHT

INTRODUCTION

What Is Polarisa on?

Light is the interac on of electric and magne c elds travelling through

space. The electric and magne c vibra ons of a light wave occur perpendicularly
to each other. The electric eld moves in one direc on and the magne c eld in
another 'perpendicular to each other. So, we have one plane occupied by an
electric eld, another plane of the magne c eld perpendicular to it, and the
direc on of travel is perpendicular to both. These electric and magne c
vibra ons can occur in numerous planes. A light wave that is vibra ng in more
than one plane is known as unpolarised light. The light emi ed by the sun, by a
lamp or a tube light are all unpolarised light sources. As you can see in the
image below, the direc on of propaga on is constant, but the plane on which
the amplitude occurs are changing.

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 Types of Polarisa on
Following are the three types of polarisa on depending on how the electric eld
is oriented:
• Linear polarisa on
• Circular polarisa on
• Ellip cal polarisa on
Linear Polarisa on
In linear polarisa on, the electric eld of light is limited to a single plane along
the direc on of propaga on.
Circular Polarisa on
There are two linear components in the electric eld of light that are
perpendicular to each other such that their amplitudes are equal, but
the phase di erence is π/2. The propaga on of the occurring electric
eld will be in a circular mo on.Ellip cal Polarisa on

The electric eld of light follows an ellip cal propaga on. The
amplitude and phase di erence between the two linear components
are not equal.
Methods Used in the Polarisa on of Light
There are a few methods used in the polarisa on of light:

• Polarisa on by Transmission

• Polarisa on by Re ec on

• Polarisa on by Sca ering

• Polarisa on by Refrac on
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AIM :- To Observe polarisa on of Light using Polaroid

Apparatus :- Thin glass sheet, a source giving monochroma c light beam

with parallel rays, a Polaroid

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 PRINCIPLE AND THEORY
DISCOVERY OF A POLAROID Polaroids are ar cially prepared dichroic
materials. The great scien st W. H. Herapath ar cially invented the
crystalline material called iodosulfate, extracted from quinine. He
named this discovered material herapathite. Herapathite shows the
phenomenon of dichroism. Later in 1934, another great scien st
named E. H. Land arranged these herapathite crystals in the cellulose
acetate. He placed all the crystals with the op c axis parallel
to cellulose acetate. A er that, a layer was formed and inserted
between the two glasses for protec on. It resulted in the forma on of
sheets that polarised the light. This mechanism is called a
polaroid. Polaroid is used widely for producing polarised light.

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 MECHANISM
The phenomenon of selec ve absorp on is also called dichroism. In this
phenomenon, those light waves whose electric eld is vibra ng in a plane get
transmi ed, which is parallel to the direc on of the orienta on of light. The not
parallel waves in the orienta on direc on either get absorbed by the material or
get re ected into the surrounding area. This phenomenon is used for producing
polarised light. All the polaroids and polarisers are based on this phenomenon.

Half of its rays remain in the parallel orienta on direc on when any light passes
and the other half remain in the perpendicular orienta on direc on. So. the
material (which shows a property of selec ve absorp on) passes the rays in the
parallel orienta on direc on and re ects the rays in the perpendicular
orienta on direc on. In the same way, all the polaroids and polarisers work.

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 MALUS LAW
• Malus law is crucial if we want to learn or understand the polarisa on
proper es of light. The law helps us to study the light intensity rela on of the
polariser-analyser. Malus law is named a er É enne-Louis Malus, who, in the
year 1808. discovered that natural incident light could be polarised when it was
re ected by a glass surface. He used calcite crystal for his experiment.

• A er observing the results, he further put forth a concept that natural light
consisted of the s- and p- polarisa on and that they were perpendicular to each
other. Today, this law is used to de ne the intrinsic connec on between op cs
and electromagne sm as well as demonstrate the transverse nature of
electromagne c waves.

• Malus law states that the intensity of plane- polarised light that passes
through an analyser varies as the square of the cosine of the angle between the
plane of the polariser and the transmission axes of the analyser.

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 MALUS LAW FORMULA
The law helps us quan ta vely verify the nature of polarised light. Let us
understand the expression of Malus law.

Point1-When unpolarised light is incident on an ideal polariser, the intensity of

the transmi ed light is exactly half that of the incident unpolarised light, no
ma er how the polarising axis is oriented.

Point 2- An ideal polarising lter passes 100% of incident unpolarised light,

which is polarised in the direc on of the lter's (Polariser) polarising axis.

From point (1) and point (2). we can assume

The average value of l (<l>):

We know

Which sa s es point (2)

men oned above.

To show point (1), let us consider

That implies

To determine the direc on of polarisa on, we need one polariser, which is

known as analyser oriented, making an angle (p) with the polariser.

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 PROCEDURE
Keep the than glass sheet in a horizontal plane surface with a hole under the

sheet. Take a beam of monochroma c light having parallel rays and make it
incident on the upper face of the glass sheet.

Tes ng of Polarisa on.

1. Take a polaroid (P) and keep it in between incident light and your
eyes.
2. Take a monochroma c light source
3. Pass the light using the monochroma c light source through the
polaroid.

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 OBSERVATIONS

In the polarisa on project, several key observa ons were made. When
unpolarised light passed through a polarising lter, it became polarised,
allowing only light waves aligned with the lter's axis to pass through.
Introducing a second polarising lter and rota ng it revealed that the
light intensity varied, with maximum transmission when the lters were
aligned and complete blockage when they were perpendicular. This
demonstrated the concept of cross-polarisa on. Addi onally, light
re ected o shiny surfaces, like glass or water, was observed to be
par ally polarised, with maximum polarisa on occurring at a speci c
angle known as Brewster's angle. Sca ered light, such as sunlight in the
atmosphere, also exhibited par al polarisa on, as evidenced by
changes in brightness when viewed through a rota ng polarising lter.
These observa ons validated Malus's law, showing that the intensity of
light passing through two polarisers decreases as the angle between
their axes increases. These ndings highlight the behaviour of light
under various polarisa on condi ons and its dependence on angles
and materials.

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 CONCLUSION
Polarisa on is a fascina ng phenomenon in which light waves align in
speci c direc ons. Through this project, we demonstrated how
unpolarised light can be converted into polarised light using polarising
lters and studied how the orienta on of these lters a ects light
transmission. Our experiments con rmed that the intensity of
polarised light varies with the angle between the light source and the
polariser, consistent with Malus's law. Addi onally, we explored how
polarisa on occurs through re ec on and sca ering, highligh ng its
prac cal applica ons in everyday devices like sunglasses, camera
lenses, and LCD screens. This project underscores the signi cance of
polarisa on in understanding light behaviour and its wide-ranging uses
in science and technology. Future studies could delve deeper into
advanced polarisa on techniques and their applica ons in elds such
as op cs, telecommunica ons, and material science.

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 SOURCES OF ERROR
1. Malfunc on of monochroma c light source.
2. Rays are not passed parallel to each other.
3. The experiment should be conducted in a dark room.
4. It is possible that various dust par cles impended on the light while
its path from the source which resulted in change of intensity.

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 Bibliography
1. Hecht, Eugene. Op cs. 5th Edi on. Pearson Educa on, 2016.
A comprehensive textbook covering the principles of light and polarisa on in
detail.
2. Young, Hugh D., and Freedman, Roger A. University Physics with Modern
Physics. 15th Edi on. Pearson, 2020.
This book provided insights into Malus’s law and prac cal applica ons of
polarisa on.
3. Giancoli, Douglas C. Physics: Principles with Applica ons. 7th Edi on. Pearson,
2013.
A helpful resource for understanding the basics of re ec on, sca ering, and
Brewster’s angle.

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