Light emerges from a polarizer that has its transmission axis located along the x axis. The light then passes through two additional sheets of polarizing material. It is desired to orient the two sheets so that, after passing through both of them, the electromagnetic wave has the maximum possible intensity and is polarized 90° with respect to the x axis. How should the transmission axes of the sheets be oriented? Note: the following answers give the angles that the transmission axes make with respect to the x axis.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To maximize the intensity and to make the polarization 90° with respect to the x axis, the transmission axis of the first polarizing sheet must be along the x axis (since it is already given in the problem statement). The transmission axis of the second polarizing sheet should be oriented at 45° with respect to the x axis, so that it can allow both the x and y components of the electric field to pass through equally, thereby maximizing the intensity. However, we want the final polarization to be perpendicular to the x axis, so we need to add an additional 45° rotation to the transmission axis of the second polarizing sheet. Therefore, the correct answer is B (45° + 45° = 90°).

Light Emerges from a Polarizer That Has Its Transmission Axis