- #1
PenKnight
- 11
- 0
Homework Statement
I was thinking about the 3 polarizers experiment where you have them angled 45 degree to each other and the first and third are perpendicular.
With 2 polarizer angles 90 degree to each other, no light passes through.
But with a third one inserted between them at a angle of 45 to the 1st and 3rd, light can pass through at a lower intensity.
I like to ask why?
Homework Equations
none.
The Attempt at a Solution
With 2 polarizer angles 90 degree to each other, no light passes through.
But with a third one inserted between them at a angle of 45 to the 1st and 3rd, light can pass through at a lower intensity.
I'm pondering on the why this happens. I've read a little bit of how the polarizers work. The electromagnetic waves must be perpendicular to the length of the metal grating so that it can pass through with a little loss of energy. Is this correct?
Secondly would diffraction have any part in the explanation?
Because I'm thinking the light in the one direction is diffracted. With the 2 polarizers, the interference pattern is absorbed by the 2nd polarizers, since all the light is parallel to the metal grating. But when a new polarizer is inserted between them, the light is firstly diffracted in a new direction through the 2nd polarizer which can pass through the 3rd lens?
This makes me wonder about another question.
Was the double slit experiment performed with monochromatic polarized light? Does it make a differences?
Thanks for your help