What is the effect of a second polarizer placed at 90 degrees to the first polar
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the effect of a second polarizer placed at 90 degrees to the first polarizer on the intensity of light?
It increases the intensity
It decreases the intensity to zero
It has no effect
It doubles the intensity
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the effect of a second polarizer placed at 90 degrees to the first polarizer on the intensity of light?
Step 1: Start with unpolarized light, which has light waves vibrating in all directions.
Step 2: Pass the unpolarized light through the first polarizer. This polarizer only allows light waves vibrating in one direction to pass through, reducing the intensity of the light.
Step 3: Now, the light that comes out of the first polarizer is polarized in one direction.
Step 4: Introduce a second polarizer that is oriented at 90 degrees to the first polarizer. This means the second polarizer is set to block the direction of light that the first polarizer allowed through.
Step 5: When the polarized light from the first polarizer hits the second polarizer, it cannot pass through because its direction is perpendicular to the second polarizer's orientation.
Step 6: As a result, no light passes through the second polarizer, and the intensity of the light is reduced to zero.
