What is the condition for light to be completely polarized by reflection?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
What is the condition for light to be completely polarized by reflection?
Angle of incidence equals angle of refraction
Angle of incidence equals Brewster's angle
Angle of incidence is 45 degrees
Light must be monochromatic
Light is completely polarized when it is reflected at Brewster's angle, which is given by θ_B = arctan(n2/n1).
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: What is the condition for light to be completely polarized by reflection?
Solution: Light is completely polarized when it is reflected at Brewster's angle, which is given by θ_B = arctan(n2/n1).
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what polarization means. Polarization is when light waves vibrate in a specific direction.
Step 2: Know that light can be polarized by reflection, which happens when light bounces off a surface.
Step 3: Learn about Brewster's angle. This is a special angle where light is reflected in a way that it becomes completely polarized.
Step 4: The formula for Brewster's angle (θ_B) is θ_B = arctan(n2/n1), where n2 is the refractive index of the material the light is reflecting off, and n1 is the refractive index of the medium the light is coming from.
Step 5: To find Brewster's angle, you need to calculate the arctangent of the ratio of the two refractive indices.