Question

A beam of unpolarized light with intensity I0 falls first upon a polarizer with transmission axis θTA,1 then upon a second polarizer with transmission axis θTA,2, where θTA,2−θTA,1=90degrees (in other words the two axes are perpendicular to one another). What is the intensity I2 of the light beam emerging from the second polarizer?

Answer 1

Answer:

The intensity I₂ of the light beam emerging from the second polarizer is zero.

Explanation:

Given:

Intensity of first polarizer = Io/2

For the second polarizer, the intensity is equal:

$I_{2} =\frac{I_{o} }{2} (cos\theta )^{2} =\frac{I_{o} }{2} (cos90)^{2} =0$