PASCO OS-8473 POLARIZER SET - Manual (Page 2)

2
Polarizer Set 012-09205A
®
First Polarizer
Unpolarized
Light
Polarized
Light
Polarized
Light
φ
I = I
o
cos 2
φ
I
o
φ
Second Polarizer
Figure 2: Unpolarized light incident on two polarizers
oriented at an angle
φφφφφ
with respect to each other.
However, if the second polarizer is oriented at an angle
so that it is not perpendicular to the first polarizer, there
will be some component of the electric field of the polar-
ized light that lies in the same direction as the axis of the
second polarizer, and thus some light will be transmitted
through the second polarizer (Figure 2).
Equipment
The OS-8473 Polarization Set includes:
– Polarizing Filters (2)
– Accessory Holder (1)
To use the polarizers, snap a polarizing filter on each
side of the accessory holder.
Rotate the polarizers relative to one another to view the
effect on light intensity.
The component, E, of the polarized electric field, E
o
, is
found by using trigonometry: E = E
o
cosf. Since the in-
tensity of the light goes as the square of the electric field,
the transmitted light intensity is given by I = I
o
cos
2
f,
where I
o
is the incident light intensity and f is the angle
between the axis of polarization of the incident light and
the polarizer.
Limited Warranty
For a description of product warranty see the PASCO
catalog.
Contacting Technical Support
Address: PASCO scientific
10101 Foothills Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95747-7100
Phone: (916) 786-3800
(800)772-8700
Copyright Notice
The PASCO scientific 012-09205 Polarizer Set Instruc-
tion Manual is copyrighted with all rights reserved.