Article
Article
Polarized light
Article By:
Billings, Bruce H. Formerly, Special Assistant to the Ambassador for Science and Technology, Embassy of the United States of America, Taipei, Taiwan.
Hua, Hong College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.532500
Light which has its electric vector oriented in a predictable fashion with respect to the propagation direction. In unpolarized light, the vector is oriented in a random, unpredictable fashion. Even in short time intervals, it appears to be oriented in all directions with equal probability. Most light sources seem to be partially polarized so that some fraction of the light is polarized and the remainder unpolarized. It is actually more difficult to produce a completely unpolarized beam of light than one which is completely polarized.
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
