A
beam of unpolarized light of intensity
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Solution: Click For PDF Version (a) When unpolarized light passes through a polarizing sheet its intensity is halved. Therefore, the intensity of the beam after its transmission from the polarizing sheet will be
We recall that the intensity I of a wave and the maximum value of its electric field are related by the equation
Therefore, the maximum value of the electric field of the transmitted beam will be
(b) The radiation pressure exerted on the polarizing sheet will be given by the amount of energy absorbed per second per square meter divided by the speed of light. Therefore, the pressure exerted on the polarizing sheet by the incident radiation will be
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falls at normal incidence upon a polarizing
sheet. (a) We have to
find the maximum value of the electric field of the transmitted beam;
and (c) calculate
the radiation pressure exerted on the polarizing sheet.
