WAVE OPTICS

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

When the intersecting plane is looked at from

front the the following image is seen:
Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

When the intersecting plane is looked at

from front, the following image is seen:

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Plane-polarized waves 2.
The following animation presents a wave that is plane-polarized in a

horizontal plane.

When the intersecting plane is looked at from front the the following image is
seen:
(Attention! The two animations are not synchronized!)

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

The following animation shows what happens when a circularly polarized light
wave traverses a light-absorbing medium (the refraction index is assumed to
be 1, as before). We measure the field vector of the light before it enters and
after it exits the medium, just like on the previous page.

The animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, before
entering the material, on the right, after exiting the material.
the intensity of light decreases
exponentially inside the shown piece of
material. After the light exits the
medium, its field vector rotates as
before but its length is only about 36%
of the original value.
Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

On this page, the animations presenting the two types of

circularly polarized light are shown together so that you can compare them more easily.

When the intersecting planes are looked at from the front then the following images are se

(Attention! The two animations are not synchronized!)

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Superposition of plane-polarized waves 2.

When two waves plane-polarized in two perpendicular planes meet out of phase then the wave resulting from the
superposition of the two waves will no longer be plane-polarized.
The following animation presents the superposition of two waves that have the same amplitude and wavelength and are
polarized in two perpendicular planes but there is a phase difference of 90 degrees between them. A phase difference of
90 means that when one wave is at its peak then the other one is just crossing the zero line. The superposing
components are visualized with red and green colors and the wave resulting from the superposition is shown in light blue.
When the intersecting plane is looked at from the front then the following image is seen:
(Attention! The two animations are not synchronized!)
As you can see, the result of the superposition is a special electromagnetic wave. At any fixed point in space that is in the
line of the propagation of this wave, the electric field vector rotates in a circle while its length remains constant. Such
waves are called circularly polarized waves. As the 3D picture shows, a circularly polarized wave can be visualized with
a spiral line; the wave propagates as a function describing a spiral instead of one describing a sinus curve.
In this picture, the electric field vector rotates clockwise when looked at from the direction of propagation.

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Circularly polarized waves in a refracting medium

The following animation shows what happens when a circularly polarized wave traverses a non-absorbing medium with a refraction index greater than 1.0. We
measure the field vector before and after the piece of material, just like on the previous page.
The following animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, before the material, on the right, after the material.
The phenomenon seen here is very similar to that presented on the previous page: the wavelength is much smaller in the medium than before and after it
because the light is slower in the medium. The intensity of the light does not decrease: the field vector of the exiting light is of the same length as that of the
entering light because there is no absorption.
But the phase of the wave changes here again. If the piece of material was not present then the field vectors at the two intersecting planes would rotate exactly
in the same phase because their distance is an integral multiple of the wavelength. This situation changes when we put the piece of material in between the two
intersecting planes: the light slows down in the piece of material (whose thickness is 4 times the wavelength), and it makes 8.8 full periods inside the material
instead of 4 full periods. This results in a 72 phase difference between the entering and exiting light waves. This is clearly seen in the animations showing the
intersecting planes.
Based on the presented animations, it is not hard to imagine what happens when the light wave traverses a medium that absorbs AND refracts the light at the
same time. In that case, the length of the field vector (amplitude) of the light exiting the material decreases and its phase changes as well in comparison with
the amplitude and phase of the light entering the material. We do not present these cases on animations but we encourage the reader to imagine them.

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Plane-polarized waves in a refracting medium

The following animation shows what happens when a plane-polarized wave traverses a non-absorbing medium with a refraction index
greater than 1.0. We measure the field vector of the light wave before its entry into the medium and after its exit, just like on the previous
page.
The following animation shows the two intersecting planes from the front. On the left, the field vector before the light enters the material;
on the right, after the light exits the material.
When the light beam enters the piece of material, it slows down because the refracting index of the material is greater than 1.0. Its
frequency does not change, therefore its wavelength decreases (the product of the frequency and the wavelength should be equal to the
velocity of light). In these animations, we used a refraction index n=2.2. This means that the velocity of light in the medium is 1/2.2 times
the velocity of light in vacuum, and its wavelength also decreases to 1/2.2 times the original value. When the light exits the material, its
velocity and wavelength are restored to their original (vacuum) values. Since the material does not absorb light, the intensity of the light
does not decrease.
The distance between the intersecting planes in front of and behind the piece of material is exactly 8 times the vacuum wavelength of the
light. Therefore, if the piece of material is not present, the field vectors at the two intersecting planes oscillate in exactly the same way:
they are in phase. But if the piece of material is placed between the two intersecting planes, the light slows down in the material and it has
8.8 full periods inside the material, instead of 4 periods. So there are 12.8 periods between the two intersecting planes (there are 2
periods before the piece of material and 2 periods after it). Because this is not an integral number, the two field vectors at the intersecting
planes do not oscillate in the same phase any longer.
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Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal

Physics by Pradeep Kshetrapal