Unpolarized light is passed through three successive Polaroid filters, each with

Question

Unpolarized light is passed through three successive Polaroid filters, each with its transmission axis at 45.0° to the preceding filter. Present the graph describing difference in percentage of light transmitted through the second and third filters with dependence on the angle between their transmission axises. Draw this graph.

Analyze information presented on the graph. Make a decision about at what angle between the second and third filter the highest difference in percentage of transmitted light can be observed. Explain.

Explanation / Answer

In passing through a polarizer at angle from the one before, the light intensity is reduced by factor:
cos^2()

This is Malus' law.

Therefore, when passing through the 2 polaroid sheets after the first, there is a reduction of:
(cos^2())^2 = (cos())^4

To start off, the first polarizer knocks it down by a factor of 2 (from unpolarised to polarized).

So overall,
I(3) = I(0)* (cos(45°))^4/2 = 0.125*I(0) = I(0)/8

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