Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Unpolarised light of intensity meets a Polaroid. The light that comes out meets a second Polaroid whose pass direction makes an angle of with the first. Find the intensity of the light that leaves the second Polaroid, and the fraction of the original intensity that this is. Then find the smallest angle at which the second Polaroid gives out only one tenth of the original intensity.
Unpolarised light that goes through a Polaroid keeps half of its intensity and becomes plane polarised. Plane polarised light of intensity that meets an analyser at an angle gives (Malus' law). Partly polarised light has and .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The intensity. .
Step 2. The fraction. , which is .
Step 3. The angle. We need , so and . Then .
Answer: ; ; .
Check. At the fraction is , the most that two Polaroids can pass. The fraction falls as the angle grows, so comes before , where it is zero.
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