Polarisation, Scattering and Thin Films

Name: Polarisation, Scattering and Thin Films
Author: StemPy Lab

Sunglasses that cut the glare, a sky that is blue, and the colours of a soap bubble. Polarised light and Malus' law, Brewster's angle and the scattering of light, then thin films and the ways a thin sheet or a liquid changes the fringes of Young's experiment. It serves the Indian syllabus (NCERT, JEE Main, NEET) and the matching topic of A-Level, IB and AP.

3 lessons, about 1 h 40 min3 simulations10 problems6 practice questionsPython in every lesson

Created by StemPy Lab

Course outline (3 lessons)

Lesson 1about 30 min
Polarised light and Malus' law
A Polaroid lets through light that vibrates in one direction only. Unpolarised light loses half its intensity in the first Polaroid. A second Polaroid at an angle $\theta$ passes $\cos^2\theta$ of the plane polarised light that reaches it (Malus' law). Only transverse waves can be polarised.
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program3 problems1 Python lab
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Lesson 2about 35 min
Brewster's angle and the scattering of light
Reflected light is partly polarised. At Brewster's angle, where $\tan i_B = n$ , the reflected light is completely plane polarised and the reflected and refracted rays are at right angles. The blue of the sky is light scattered by air molecules, in proportion to $1/\lambda^4$ .
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program3 problems
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Lesson 3about 35 min
Thin films and changes in the fringes
A thin film gives two reflected waves from its two surfaces. They interfere, and the film shows colours. An anti-reflection coating of thickness $\lambda/4n$ cuts the reflection. In Young's experiment, a thin sheet over one slit shifts the whole pattern by $(\mu - 1)t\beta/\lambda$ and does not change the fringe width.
1 simulation2 practice questions1 Python program4 problems1 Python lab1 question set1 note
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Polarisation, Scattering and Thin Films

Course outline (3 lessons)

Polarised light and Malus' law

Brewster's angle and the scattering of light

Thin films and changes in the fringes

Test Your Learning

Your teacher

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