DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

Prism Reflecting Rainbows

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

1. DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
When light waves pass through a narrow opening or move past an obstacle, they
bend partially at the edges of the opening or the obstacle. This phenomenon is called
diffraction.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

1. DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT

See Animation No. 2

When light waves pass through a narrow opening or move past an obstacle, they bend partially at the edges
of the opening or the obstacle. This phenomenon is called diffraction.
Cause of Diffraction. The diffraction of light waves by a
small opening is illustrated in Fig. 21.1. A plane wavefront is
advancing towards the narrow opening. When the wavefront
reaches the opening, a major part of it is blocked and only a small
part passes through the opening. According to Huygens' principle, each point on the wavefront that is not blocked acts as a
source of secondary wavelets. As a result of superposition of
secondary wavelets from the portion of the wavefront that is
allowed to pass, bending of waves occurs. As the opening is
made smaller, the waves spread more after passing through the
opening.

Plane Wavefront

Fig. 21.1
The phenomenon of spreading of light waves as they pass
through a narrow opening or move past an obstacle is called diffraction of light.

All types of wave motion exhibit the phenomenon of diffraction. If the opening or the obstacle is large
compared with the wavelength of the wave, the bending of the waves is not noticeable and the wave propagates in straight lines. But if the size of the obstacle or opening is comparable to the wavelength of the wave,
the diffraction effect is quite pronounced. Since wavelength of sound (a few centimetres to several metres) is
large compared with ordinary apertures or obstacles, diffraction of sound is a common experience. If a band is
played behind a wall, we can listen to it while standing in front of the wall, though we cannot see the band.
However, in case of light, diffraction effects are small and must be looked for carefully. The wavelength of
visible light ranges from 4000 to 8000. Since the wavelengths are very small as compared with the sizes of
ordinary objects or apertures, diffraction of light is not easily noticed.
Experimental demonstration: Fig. 21.2 shows a photograph of the shadow of a disc using
a point
source of monochromatic light. The bright spot appears at the centre of the shadow. Note that there are also
bright and dark fringes beyond the shadow. These fringes resemble
the interference fringes of the double slit experiment. In fact, they are
Shadow
due to interference of waves diffracted around different parts of the
Solid
disc. The whole pattern is called diffraction pattern. A diffraction patdisc
tern exists around any object illuminated by a point source. Diffraction
Bright
pattern such as that in Fig. 21.2 is not commonly observed in everyday
spot
life because most light sources are not point sources of monochromatic light. Therefore, light from every point of the surface of the source
Fig. 21.2
forms its own diffraction pattern but these overlap to such an extent
that no individual pattern can be observed. This leads to the conclusion that diffraction of light can be observed only under favourable conditions. It may be noted that it is due
to diffraction that light spreads into the geometrical shadow of an obstacle. If we do not look too closely,
diffraction may be neglected.

2. DIFFRACTION EFFECTS
All types of waves exhibit the phenomenon of diffraction. The diffraction (i.e. bending) of a wave is more
pronounced when the dimensions of the aperture or obstacle are comparable to the wavelength of the wave.
This is illustrated in Figs. 21.3 and 21.4.
(i) In Fig. 21.3, the apertures are of the same size but the wavelengths of the incident waves are
different. The waves spread more (i.e. they are diffracted more) when the wavelength is longer.

Short wavelength

Longer wavelength
(ii )

( i)

Fig. 21.3

(ii) In Fig. 21.4, the two waves have the same wavelength but the sizes of the apertures are different.
The diffraction is more in case of a narrow slit.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

The problem with light is that its wavelength is very small (4000 to 8000). Since the wavelengths are
very small compared with the sizes of ordinary objects or apertures, diffraction of light is not easily noticed.
Therefore, diffraction of light can only be observed under favourable conditions.

Wide slit
( i)

Narrow silt
(ii )

Fig. 21.4

3. TYPES OF DIFFRACTION
Diffraction of light is of two types viz.
(i) Fraunhofer diffraction (ii) Fresnal diffraction
(i) Fraunhofer diffraction. This type of diffraction takes place at a narrow slit when parallel rays of
light (i.e. plane wavefront) are incident on it. Clearly, both the source and the screen should be at
infinite distance from the narrow slit [ See Fig. 21.5 (i) ].

To distant
observation
point

From
distant
source

Source

f
( i)

(ii )

Fig. 21.5

We can obtain parallel rays by using a lens as illustrated in Fig. 21.5 (ii).
(ii) Fresnel diffraction. This type of diffraction takes place at a narrow slit when non-parallel rays are
incident on it. In this case, either the source, the screen or both must be relatively close to the slit
and parallel rays are not made parallel by the use of lens [See Fig. 21.6]. Fresnel diffraction is rather
complex to treat quantitatively. Therefore, we shall restrict our discussion to Fraunhofer diffraction.

4. DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT AT A SINGLE SLIT

The spreading of light waves behind the obstacles that lie in their path is called diffraction. Fig. 21.7 shows a
beam of monochromatic light incident on a narrow single slit. The light which
Screen

See Animation No. 1

Narrow
slit

Fig. 21.7

passes through the slit and impinges on the screen produces the single slit diffraction pattern.

Observations
(i) The diffraction pattern consists of a central bright band having alternate dark and weak bright
bands of decreasing intensity on both sides. The central bright fringe is considerably wider than
the slit.
(ii) The secondary maxima lie mid-way between the secondary minima.
(iii) The intensity of secondary maxima decreases with distance from the centre O.
(iv) The width of the central maximum is twice that of each secondary maximum.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

(v) Calculations show that intensity at the first secondary maximum is less than 5% of the intensity at
O, the middle of the central maximum. Thus, most of the light incident on the slit is diffracted into
the central maximum.

5. THEORY OF DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT AT A SINGLE SLIT

Consider a monochromatic plane wavefront incident on slit AB. This wavefront is blocked except between
points A and B. According to Huygens principle, each point on wavefront AB sends out secondary wavelets
in all directions. The diffraction pattern on the screen is formed due to the superposition of these secondary
wavelets.
Let

width of the slit

distance of the screen from the slit

wavelength of the monochromatic light used

(i) Central maximum: All the points on the wavefront between A and B are in phase i.e., they are
coherent sources. Consider a point O on the screen which lies on the perpendicular bisector of the slit as shown
in Fig. 21.8.
Plane
wavefronts

Screen
o

=0

A
d

C
B
D
Fig. 21.8

The wavelets which fall on the lens parallel to CO (i.e. = 0) meet at point O in the same phase. It is
because these waves are in phase with each other as they leave AB and their optical paths between the slit and
point O are also equal. Thus, all the waves arrive in phase at O and give rise to central maximum i.e. central
bright fringe is obtained at O.
(ii) Positions of secondary minima: Now consider another point P1 on the screen [See Fig. 21.9.]. Let
the rays which reach point P1 make an angle 1 with CO. The rays from points A (ray 9) and B (ray 1) will have
a path difference AN given by ;
AN = d sin 1
If this path difference is (the wavelength of light used), then point P1 will have minimum intensity i.e. point
P1 is the first secondary minimum. Thus the location of the first secondary minimum is given by, = d sin 1.
The reason that first secondary minimum is located at point P1 is as follows. In Fig. 21.9, the rays travelling
at an angle 1 to CO are such that the ray from the top of the slit (i.e. ray 9) travels exactly one wavelength ()
more than the ray from the bottom edge (ray 1). The ray passing through the very centre C of the slit (ray 5) will
travel /2 distance more than the ray at the bottom edge (ray 1). Therefore, ray 1 is 180 out of phase with ray
5 and so the two waves will meet destructively at point P1 to produce the first secondary minimum. Similarly ray
2 is 180 out of phase with ray 6, ray 3 is 180 out of phase with ray 7 and so on. Thus each ray in the bottom half
of the slit cancels out a corresponding ray in the upper half. Thus position of first secondary minimum is
located at = d sin 1.
Converging
lens

l
N

1
2

O
1

P1

Fig. 21.9

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

The second secondary minimum is located at P2 when this path difference is 2 as shown in Fig. 21.10.
Now the rays are travelling at an angle 2 with CO such that the ray from the top of the slit travels exactly 2
distance more than the ray from the bottom of the slit. The rays from the bottom quarter of the slit will cancel
with those in the quarter just above it since the path lengths difference is /2. Also the rays through the quarter
of the slit just above centre C will cancel with those through the top quarter. Thus, the location of the second
secondary minimum is given by ;
2 = d sin 2
Similarly, if path difference is 3 (i.e. 3 = d sin 3), the third secondary minimum is located on the screen. In
general, for nth secondary minimum, we have,
Converging
Lens
3l /2

A
d

q
1

l
l
2

Secondary
minimum

Secondary
maximum
Fig. 21.11

Path difference = n
or

where n = 1, 2, 3, ... an integer

d sin n = n

sin n = n
d
Note that n = 1, 2, 3 ... but not n = 0 where there is central bright fringe.
or

(iii) Positions of secondary maxima: Between each pair of minima is a cecondary maximum (bright fringe).
The brightest maximum occurs in the centre (point O) and the other secondary maxima get successively dimmer.
Let us calculate the positions of these secondary maxima. Consider the rays travelling at angle 1 with CO such
that the ray from top of the slit travels a distance 3/2 more than the ray from the bottom edge. In this case, the
rays from the bottom third of the slit will cancel in pairs with those in the middle third since they will be /2 out
of phase [See Fig. 21.11]. However, light from the top third of the slit will still reach the screen so that there will
be a bright spot but not as bright as the central spot at = 0.
Thus the location of the first secondary maximum is given by ;
3
= d sin 1
2
The second secondary maximum is located on the screen when path difference is 5 /2 i.e.
5
= d sin 2
2
In general, for nth secondary maximum, the condition is
d sin n = (2n + 1)

where n = 1, 2, 3 ... an integer

Fig. 21.12

Fig. 21.12 shows the intensity of diffraction pattern of a single slit as a function of sin . By far the brightest
spot (central maximum) occurs at the centre line of the slit. The other maxima get successively dimmer.
Note: Most of the energy of the wave lies in the central maximum. The first secondary minimum occurs at
sin 1 =

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

This leads to an important generalisation :

The ratio of wavelength () to the size of opening (d) determines to what extent light or any other wave
fails to travel in a straight line. If this ratio is small, the bending of light will be small and vice-versa.

6. WIDTH OF CENTRAL MAXIMUM

The width of the central maximum is the distance between the first secondary minimum on either side of O as
shown in Fig. 21.13. Thus the width of the central maximum is 2x. It can be easily determined. Referring to Fig.
21.13, the first secondary minimum occurs at

d
This is the angle between the centre and the first secondary minimum. The angle subtended by the whole
central maximum, between the minimum above and below the centre O, is twice this value i.e. 2.
sin =

If q is small, sin

tan =

x

D d
D
*x =
or
d
Width of central maximum = 2x

x
D

2D
d
Note: The angle is the angular half-width of
the central fringe.
=

x
d

Slit

O
x

Light
intensity
on screen

Fig. 21.13

d
If the width of slit (d) is large compared to the wavelength () of light, then sin is very small and hence
is very small. In this case, the first secondary minimum and central fringe are very close to each other. practically, the whole of light is thus confined to a direction immediately in front of the incident direction i.e. no
spreading occurs. This explains the rectilinear propagation of light. When the width of slit is very small say 2,
then sin = /d = /2 = 1/2 or = 30. Thus, light waves now spread through 30 on either side of the slit i.e.
diffraction is quite pronounced.

sin =

7. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT

Although both interference and diffraction are consequences of superposition of light waves, there are following important differences :
(i) Interference arises due to the superposition of waves from two coherent sources. However, diffraction pattern is produced as a result of waves coming from different parts of the same wavefront.
(ii) In interference pattern, all the bright fringes are of the same intensity. However, in diffraction
pattern, all bright fringes are not of the same intensity.
(iii) In interference pattern, the width of the fringes may or may not be the same. On the other hand,
diffraction fringes are not of the same width.
(iv) In interference pattern, the points of minimum intensity are perfectly dark. However, in diffraction
pattern, the intensity at minima is never zero.

8. DOPPLER EFFECT
Whenever there is a relative motion between a source of waves and an observer, the frequency/wavelength of
the wave as noted by the observer is different from the actual frequency/wavelength of the waves. This
apparent shift in frequency/wavelength is called Doppler effect and occurs for all types of waves.
The apparent change of frequency and wavelength of a source of waves when there is a relative motion
between the source and the observer is called Doppler effect.
The Doppler effect occurs whenever a source of sound or light moves relative to the observer. You have
certainly experienced this effect with sound. As an example, whenever a fast-moving car approaches and
passes you, the sound of its siren seems to behave in a peculiar way. The sirens frequency appears to change
from a high tone to a low tone as the car rushes by. In other words, the frequency of the sound is *raised when
the source of sound approaches you and lowered when the source is moving away from you. The reason is
simple. As the car approaches a stationary listener, the sound waves are crowded together, causing a decrease
in wavelength and increase in frequency of the sound heard. After the car has passed and is moving away from
the listener, the sound waves spread out. As a result, the wavelength is increased and the observed frequency
is decreased. A similar effect occurs with light and other electromagnetic waves.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

9. DOPPLER EFFECT IN LIGHT

Doppler effect in light has a number of useful applications. For example, Doppler effect in light has been used
to measure the speed of distant stars and planets.
Suppose a source of light emits waves of frequency f and wavelength . If c is the velocity of light in
vacuum, then,
c
=
f
Expressions for Apparent Wavelength and Frequency
(i) When the source of light is moving away from the stationary observer. Suppose the source of light
(e.g., star) is moving with a velocity v away from the earth. Since the frequency of the source is f, it
emits f cycles in one second. Owing to the velocity v, the f waves occupy a distance (c + v).
Therefore, the apparent wavelength to an observer on the earth in line with stars motion is
Apparent wavelength, =

c+v c+v
v

=
= 1 +
f
c
c

= 1 +
c

or Shift in wavelength, = = v
... (i)
c
It is clear from eq. (i) that ' is greater than . Thus, when a star is moving away from the earth, the apparent
wavelength increases (or equivalently the apparent frequency decreases). We say that light is red-shifted i.e.
it is shifted to longer wavelengths.
v

= 1 +
c

c
v c

= 1 +
f
c f

Now
or

v
v

= f 1 + = f 1
v
c
c

1+
c
v

f = f 1
or
c

(ii) When the source of light is moving towards the stationary observer. If the star is moving towards the
earth with a velocity v, the apparent wavelength is given by ;

Apparent frequency, f =

cv cv
v

=
= 1
f
c
c

v
v

= 1
or =
c
c

Apparent wavelength, =

or Shift in wavelength, = v
... (ii)
c
It is clear from eq. (ii) that is less . Thus, when a star is moving towards the earth, the
apparent wavelength decreases (or apparent frequency increases). We say that light is blue-shifted
i.e. it is shifted to shorter wavelengths.
v

= 1
Now,
c

c
v c

= 1
or

f
c f

Apparent frequency,

f=

= f 1
v
c

1
c
f

= f 1 +
c

f = f 1 +
c

Note: Eqs. (i) and (ii) apply for velocities much less than c otherwise relativistic corrections are requried.
Measurement of speed of star: In measuring the speed of a star, a photograph of its spectrum is taken.
When this spectrum is examined, it is found that each line in the spectrum of any particular element in the star
occurs at a different wavelength from that of the corresponding line of the same element in the laboratory. If the

or

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

lines are displaced towards the red, the star in receding from earth. On the other hand, if the lines are displaced
towards the blue, the star is approaching the earth. The extent of shift in wavelength depends upon the speed
with which the star is moving relative to the earth. Using eq. (i) or eq. (ii) above, the speed v of the star can be
calculated.
Speed of star, v = c

10. POLARISATION

As you know, waves can be either transverse or longitudinal in nature. Longitudinal waves are waves in which
vibrations are along the direction of travel of the wave (e.g., sound waves). Transverse waves are waves in which
vibrations are perpendicular to the direction of travel of the wave (e.g., electromagnetic waves). Both transverse
and longitudinal waves show interference and diffraction effects. There is one property that only transverse
waves display; polarisation. Polarisation is a property of transverse waves related to the direction or directions in
which vibrations occur. We can visualise polarisation by considering transverse waves on a rope.
The phenomenon of restricting the vibrations of a transverse wave in a particular direction is called
polarisation of transverse wave. When this phenomenon is associated with light, it is called polarisation of
light.
(i) In Fig. 21.15 (i), the rope is shaken up and down. The wave produced is plane polarised the rope
vibrates in a single plane, the vertical plane. We say the wave is vertically plane polarised. Such a wave
can pass through a vertical slit as shown in Fig. 21.15 (ii). However, this wave cannot travel through
a horizontal slit as shown in Fig. 21.15 (iii).

(i)

(ii)
Fig. 21.15

(ii) In Fig. 21.16 (i), the rope is shaken side to side. The wave produced is again plane polarised since
the rope vibrates in one plane, the horizontal plane. We say the wave is horizontally plane polarised.
Such a wave can pass through a horizontal slit as shown in Fig. 21.16 (ii). However, this wave
cannot travel through a vertical slit as shown in Fig. 21.16 (iii).

(i)

(ii)
Fig. 21.16

Note: It may be noted that polarisation can exist for only transverse waves and not for longitudinal waves. The latter only vibrate along the direction of travel of the wave and neither orientation
of the slit (horizontal or vertical) would stop them.
(iii) Fig. 21.17 (i) shows the various waves vibrating on the rope simultaneously. That is some may be in
the horizontal plane, others may be in the vertical plane
and still others may have components of wave motion
in both the planes. A mixed wave such as this is said to
be unpolarised. Now suppose this vibrating rope
S2
passes through a vertical slit S1. This slit will stop all
horizontal components of the wave and will allow only
the vertical wave motion through it. Thus, the wave
S1
beyond slit S 1 has vibrations in only one plane
(vertical plane) and is said to be plane polarised. If a
second horizontal slit S2 is placed in waves path, the
(ii)
(i)
vertical vibrations are also stopped. As a result, the
wave amplitude is reduced to zero after passing
Fig. 21.17
through the slit S2 [See Fig. 21.17 (ii)].

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

11. POLARISATION OF LIGHT

The phenomenon of restricting the vibrations of light in a particular plane is called polarisation of light.
Fig. 21.18 shows a light wave. The vibrations of a light wave are a varying electric field E and a varying
magnetic field B which are perpendicular to each other and which have the same frequency. Each of these fields
is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the wave and, therefore, light is a transverse wave motion. It has
been found experimentally that the electric component of light is mainly responsible for optical effects.
Therefore, vibrations of light means vibrations of electric vector of light.
Y

E0
X

B0
Z

(direction of travel)
B
Fig. 21.18

When all the vibrations of a light wave are in a single plane which contains the direction of propagation
of the wave, the wave is said to be plane-polarised (or linearly polarised). Fig. 21.18 shows the variations of E
only in the xy plane. Therefore, light wave is plane polarised in the xy plane.

12. UNPOLARISED LIGHT

Most sources of light (e.g., incandescent bulb, sun etc.) emit unpolarised light i.e. vibrations take place in
randomly oriented directions perpendicular to the travel of the wave. The reason is simple. When light is
emitted by a source, it is as a result of electron transitions within the individual atoms of the source. These
transitions occur rapidly and each gives rise to a wave for a short time (
109 s). Thus, the resultant light
consists of many different waves originating at random times from atoms that are oriented randomly relative to
each other [See Fig. 21.19 (i)]. As shown in Fig. 21.19 (ii), the amplitudes of vibrations are equal.
The above discussion leads to the conclusion that the unpolarised light consists of components polarised
in all possible directions perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the wave. Each of these polarisation
directions can be resolved into components along two mutually perpendicular directions. Thus, an unpolarised
beam can be thought of as two plane polarised beams of equal magnitude perpendicular to one another. This
gives rise to the commonly

(i)

(ii)
Fig. 21.19

used pictorial representation of unpolarised light wave shown

in Fig. 21.20. One beam is represented by dots and the other of
equal magnitude by arrows. The dots represent vibrations perpendicular to the plane of the paper while arrows represent
vibrations in the plane of the paper.
Note: It might seem that we could add up all vectors
of Fig. 21.19 (ii) to zero. However, it may be remembered that
each arrow represents light from a different atom and there is
no coherence between the phases of their vibrations.

Electric
vibrations
plane of
paper
Direction
of propagation

Electric
vibrations
in the plane
of paper

Fig. 21.20

13. POLARISED LIGHT

The unpolarised light can be polarised in much the same way that the unpolarised wave travelling along the
rope shown in Fig. 21.16 was polarised by a slit. Instead of using a single slit, the light passes through a material
that has the effect of many narrow slits, all arranged parallel to each other. The most common polarising material
is sold under the name polaroid (e.g. Nicol Prism). In a polaroid sheet, there is a characteristic direction, called
the transmission axis and is indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 21.21. The sheet works in a simple way. The
vibrations of electric vector that are parallel to the transmission axis are allowed to pass while vibrations
perpendicular to the transmission axis are absorbed by the polaroid.

10

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

An unpolarised light beam is equivalent to two equally intense beams whose planes of vibration are
perpendicular to each other. Suppose an unpolarised light beam of intensity I0 is allowed to fall normally on a
polaroid sheet P1 as shown in Fig. 21.21. The vibrations of electric vector parallel to the transmission axis of the
polaroid are allowed to pass while those perpendicular to the transmission axis are absorbed. Therefore, the
light beam that emerges from the polaroid has only *half the intensity (i.e. I0 / 2) of the original unpolarised
beam. Thus, the unpolarised light is polarised or plane polarised i.e., vibrations of the electric vector are
confined to one plane. If the polaroid is slowly rotated about the direction of propagation, the intensity of
the emergent light remains the same (i.e. I0 / 2). The reason is simple. In all the positions of the
Unpolarised
Light

Polarised
Light
P1

I0

I0
2

Fig. 21.21

polaroid, the probability of occurrence of vibrations parallel to the transmission axis is the same. Hence, the
intensity of light (= I0 / 2) emerging from the polaroid is the same, no matter what is the orientation of the
polaroid. A polaroid used this way is called a polariser because it has produced polarised light from unpolarised
light. The phenomenon of producing polarisation by a polaroid is called polarisation by selective absorption.
Let us now place a second polaroid sheet P2 such that its transmission axis is perpendicular to the
transmission axis of P1 as shown in Fig. 21.22. The intensity of light emerging from P2 is zero. Thus, when two
polaroids are crossed (i.e. their transmission axes are perpendicular to each other), unpolarised light can be
entirely stopped (or nearly so). Note that the unpolarised light is made plane polarised by the first polaroid P1.
The second polaroid P2 then eliminates this component since its transmission axis is perpendicular to the
transmission axis of the first.

14. SOME DEFINITIONS

In a plane-polarised beam of light, the vibrations of electric vector are along a single direction.
(i) Plane of vibration. The plane containing the direction of vibration of electric vector and the
direction of propagation of light is called the plane of vibration. Thus in Fig. 21.23, OO is the
direction of propagation of light and ABCD is the plane of vibration. Note that in this polarised light,
the vibrations of electric vector are in the plane of
the paper.
Plane of Vibration
A

Plane-Polarised light

O
D

Plane of Polarisation

Fig. 21.23

(ii) Plane of polarisation. The plane containing the direction of propagation of light and perpendicular to the plane of vibration is called plane of polarisation. Obviously, there are no vibrations of
electric vector in the plane of polarisation. In Fig. 21.23, EFGH is the plane of polarisation.

15. DETECTION OF POLARISED LIGHT

The human eye cannot distinguish between polarised and unpolarised light; what we actually register is the
intensity of light. In order to determine whether the light is polarised or not, we use two polaroids P1 and P2 as
shown in Fig. 21.24. The first polaroid P1 is called polariser because it polarises the unpolarised light. The
second polaroid P2 is called the analyser because it is used to determine whether the light is polarised or not.
(i) The unpolarised light of intensity I0 is allowed to fall normally on the polariser P1. The polariser P1
eliminates half of the light so that the intensity of the emergent light is reduced by half i.e., it
becomes I0 / 2. This beam of intensity I0 / 2 is incident on the analyser P2. If the transmission axes of
the polariser and the analyser are parallel [See Fig. 21.24], the beam that emerges from P2 has the
same intensity i.e. I0 / 2.
(ii) If the analyser P2 is slowly rotated about the direction of propagation, the intensity of light that
emerges from it *decreases and becomes zero when the transmission axis of the analyser becomes
perpendicular to the transmission axis of the polariser [See Fig. 21.25]. This means that polariser P1
has polarised the unpolarised light incident on it. Had it not been so, the analyser would have
passed the same amount of light irrespective of its orientation.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

11

P1
I0

Polarised
Light

Polarised
Light

Unpolarised
Light

P2
I0
2
Fig. 21.24

I0
2

The following points may be noted carefully:

(a) If on rotation of the analyser, the intensity of light decreases and becomes zero at one orientation
(i.e., when the axes of P1 and P2 are perpendicular to each other), then the light is 100% plane
polarised. If the emergent light from P2 merely reaches a minimum, the light is partially plane
polarised.
(b) The change of intensity of light emerging from P2 due to its rotation about the direction of propagation leads to one important conclusion viz. the vibrations in light waves are transverse. If the
light waves were longitudinal, then intensity of light emerging from P2 would have been the same
due to rotation of P2.
Polariser
Axis

16. MALUSS LAW

According to Malus, when completely plane polarised light is incident on the
analyser, the intensity I of the light transmitted by the analyser is directly proportional to the square of the cosine of angle between the transmission axes of
the analyser and the polariser i.e.

E0
sin

I cos2

Analyser
Axis

Suppose the angle between the transmission axes of the analyser and the
polariser is [See Fig. 21.26]. The completely plane polarised light from the polariser
is incident on the analyser. If E0 is the amplitude of the electric vector transmitted
by the polariser, then intensity I0 of the light incident on the analyser is

E0

E0 cos

Fig. 21.26

I 0 E02
The electric field vector E0 can be resolved into two rectangular components viz. E0 cos and E0 sin . The
analyser will transmit only that component (i.e., E0 cos ) which is parallel to its transmission axis. However,
component E0 sin will be absorbed by the analyser. Therefore, the intensity I of light transmitted by the
analyser is
I (E0 cos )2

or

( E cos ) 2
I
= 0 2
= cos 2
I0
E0

I = I0 cos2

Therefore, I cos2 . This proves law of Malus.

(i) When = 0 (or 180), I = I0 cos2 0 = I0. That is the intensity of light transmitted by the analyser is
maximum when the transmission axes of the analyser and the polariser are parallel.
(ii) When = 90, I = I0 cos2 90 = 0. That is the intensity of light transmitted by the analyser is minimum
when the transmission axes of the analyser and polariser are perpendicular to each other.
Note: When unpolarised light of intensity I0 is polarised on passing through a polaroid, the intensity
becomes half i.e., I0 / 2. This can be easily proved on the basis of Maluss law. In unpolarised light, the
vibrations occur in all directions in a plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of light. Therefore, can have any value between 0 and 2 .
According to Maluss law, I = I0 cos2
1
The average value of cos2 over a cycle is * .
2
1 I
I pol = I 0 = 0

2
2

17. POLARISATION OF LIGHT BY REFLECTION

When unpolarised light is reflected from a plane surface (e.g., airglass or airwater surface), the reflected ray
is partially polarised. The degree to which the reflected ray is polarised depends upon the angle of incidence
and the indices of refraction of the two media.
(i) If the angle of incidence made by the unpolarised light is 0 or 90, the reflected ray remains
unpolarised.

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DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

(ii) For angles of incidence between 0 and 90 (except for one particular angle of incidence), the
reflected ray is partially polarised as shown in Fig. 21.27 (i). The component of light beam that
vibrates perpendicular to the surface is reflected less than the component vibrating parallel to the
surface.
(iii) The degree of polarisation increases as the angle of incidence is increased. There is one

Fig. 21.27

particular angle of incidence, called polarising angle (p) or Brewsters angle at which polarisation
of the reflected ray is complete (i.e. 100 %) as shown in Fig. 21.27 (ii). This happens when the
reflected ray and the refracted ray are at right angles to each other. When the angle of incidence
is p (polarising angle), the reflected beam is completely plane polarised with its polarisation perpendicular to the plane of incidence. Remember that the plane of incidence contains the incident
beam, the reflected beam and the normal to the surface. Thus, the electric field of the reflected beam
oscillates parallel to the reflecting surface [See Fig. 21.27 (ii)]. Except for angles of incidence 0, 90
and p, the reflected beam is partially polarised perpendicular to the plane of incidence.
The following points may be noted about the production of polarised light from unpolarised light
by reflection :
(a)
Except for a few particular angles of incidence (0, 90 and p), the reflected beam is partially
polarised.
(b)
At angle of incidence equal to p, the reflected beam is completely plane polarised.
(c)
Although the reflected beam is completely plane polarised when the incident angle is p, the
refracted ray is only partially polarised because only a small fraction of incident light is
reflected.
(d)
If the incident light itself is polarised with electric field vector in the plane of incidence, there
is no reflected light when the angle of incidence is p.
(e)
The value of polarisation angle p varies with wavelength of light and hence complete
polarisation can only be obtained with monochromatic light.

18. BREWSTERS LAW

Fig. 21.27. (ii) shows unpolarised light incident at the polarising angle p for which the reflected light is
completely polarised. At angle of incidence equal to p, the reflected ray and refracted ray are perpendicular to
each other. We can relate the polarising angle p to the indices of refraction of the two media by using Snells
law. Let 1 be the refractive index of the medium which contains the incident and reflected rays and let 2 be the
refractive index of the medium which contains the refracted ray. Using Snells law, we have,
1 sin p = 2 sin 2
where
2 = angle of refraction
Referring to Fig. 21.27 (ii), 2 + p = 90 or
2 = 90 p

1 sin p = 2 sin (90 p)

or
1 sin p = 2 cos p

2
= tan p
1

... (i)

Eq. (i) relates the polarising angle p to the indices of refraction of the two media and is known as
Brewsters law. The following points may be noted carefully :
(i) The condition for complete polarisation by reflection is that the reflected ray and refracted ray
should be perpendicular to each other. This condition is satisfied if the light is incident at the
polarising angle p.

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

13

(ii) Polarising angle (p) depends upon the refractive index of the refracting medium w.r.t. incident medium
(i.e. 2 / 1). Suppose the first medium is air (1 = 1) and the second medium is glass (2 = 1.5).
Brewsters law gives tan p = 2 / 1 = 1.5/1 = 1.5 or p = tan1 1.5 = 57. Unpolarised light incident from
air and reflected from glass surface will be totally polarised if the angle of incidence is 57.
(iii) The refracted ray is partially polarised even if the angle of incidence is p.

19. POLARISATION BY SCATTERING

Light is also polarised due to *scattering of light by small particles, e.g., air molecules. The term scattering
usually refers to the situation in which the scattering particles are separated by distances not small as compared with the wavelength of light. A familiar example is the scattering of light by air molecules. Shorter
wavelengths (violet and blue) are scattered more than longer waveUnpolarised
lengths (yellow and red). For this reason, sky appears blue.
sunlight
However, not only is the sky blue, but light coming from it is
also partially polarised. To see how this polarisation arises, consider a single molecule of air in the path of unpolarised light coming from the sun as shown in Fig. 21.28. The oscillating electric field
of the incident EM wave will set the electric charges (electrons) of the molecule in vibration. But the molecule quickly
reemits the light at the same frequency as the incident light. The
electric field of scattered (reemitted) light must be perpendicular to
the direction of propagation. An observer at right angles to
the direction of sunlight (position A in Fig. 21.28) will see horizontally polarised light since no light is emitted along the line of the
other component of the oscillation. At other viewing angles, both
components will be present; one will be stronger, however, so that
the light appears partially polarised. Thus, the process of scattering explains the polarisation of sky light.

20. OPTICAL ACTIVITY

O2 or N2
molecule

Light scattered
at right angles is
plane-polarised

A
Observer
Fig. 21.28

When a beam of plane polarised light is passed through certain crystals and solutions, it is found that the
plane of polarisation is rotated through a certain angle. This property is called optical activity. Fig. 21.29 shows
the unpolarised light incident on a polariser. The emergent light from the polariser is plane polarised. When this
plane polarised light is passed through a sugar solution, the analyser behind the solution does not cut off all
the light when placed at 90 to the polariser. But if the analyser is rotated through an angle , there is no light
transmitted through it. This means that plane of polarisation has been rotated through an angle by the sugar
solution. Such substances are said to be optically active. Examples of optically active substances are quartz,
sugar solution, sodium chloride etc.
(i) Those substances which rotate the plane of polarisation to the right as viewed along the direction
of the beam as in Fig. 21.29 are called dextrorotatory (also called right handed or positive). Sugar
solution is dextrorotatory.
(ii) Those substances which rotate the plane of polarisation to the left as viewed along the direction of
the beam are called leavorotatory (also called left handed or negative). Most naturally occurring
proteins are leavorotatory.
Unpolarised light

Polariser
Fig. 21.29

Note. It may be noted that the angle of rotation depends upon (a) thickness of the crystal (b) density
of the crystal or concentration in case of solutions (c) wavelength of light used and (d) temperature of the
solution.

21. POLAROID SUNGLASSES

One principal use of polaroids is to avoid glare of light. The light reflected from a bright non-metallic surface
(e.g. wet roads, smooth surface of water, polished tables etc.) is partially plane polarised with vibrations in the
horizontal plane. For example, if you look at the morning sun reflected from a lake [See Fig. 21.30], the light
waves that vibrate parallel to the lakes surface have large amplitude than the reflected waves that vibrate up
and down. To reduce the glare of this light, we can wear polaroid sunglasses whose transmission axes are

14

DIFFRACTION AND POLARISATION

orientated vertically. The glasses then absorb the more intense horizontally polarised light and thus reduce the glare. This is well-known by
fishermen who wear polaroid glasses to eliminate reflected glare from the
surface of a lake or stream and thus, see beneath the water more clearly.
Photographers sometimes use polaroid sheets in front of a lens to reduce
the glare of light reflected from a surface.

Reflected
light

Sun

22. USES OF POLARISED LIGHT

Polaroids have several uses in daily life :
Lake

(i) They are used in sunglasses to reduce the intensity of light

and to eliminate glare.
(ii) Polaroids are used for viewing three dimensional pictures.

Fig. 21.30

(iii) Polaroids are used in optical stress analysis.

(iv) Polaroids are used to control the intensity of light entering trains and aeroplanes.
(v) Polaroids are used in wind shields of automobiles.