PASCO OS-8473 POLARIZER SET - Manual

Instruction Sheet
for the PASCO
Model OS-8473
POLARIZER SET
012-09205A
Introduction
The PASCO OS-8473 Polarizer Set is designed to dem-
onstrate the polarization of light with the Basic Optics
System.
Polarizer
Polarized
Light
Unpolarized
Light
First Polarizer
No Light
Second Polarizer
Figure 1: Unpolarized light incident on two polarizers
oriented perpendicularly to each other.
Theory
A polarizer only allows light which is vibrating in a par-
ticular plane to pass through it. This plane forms the
“axis” of polarization. Unpolarized light vibrates in all
planes. Thus if unpolarized light is incident upon an
“ideal” polarizer, only half will be transmitted through
the polarizer. (Since in reality no polarizer is “ideal”, less
than half the light will be transmitted.) The transmitted
light is polarized in one plane. If this polarized light is
incident upon a second polarizer, the axis of which is ori-
ented such that it is perpendicular to the plane of polar-
ization of the incident light, no light will be transmitted
through the second polarizer (Figure 1).