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Exploring Light Intensity Through Polarizers

Explore light intensity through linear polarizers at angles from 0° to 90°. Measure transmitted light with lOLab sensor, test repeatability with two trials per angle, and analyze results using Malus' Law.

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    Physics 102 Lab 7 Introduction: The goal of this lab is to explore the intensity of light that is transmitted through a pair of linear polarizers as a function of the angle between the transmission axes. W e will measure this through the lOLab device by utilizing the light feature and measuring ten evenly spaced angles between 0 3 to 90 3 for the transmission axes. By making two measurements for each angle, we will be able to test the repeatability for both our angle and intensity measurements. An important concept introduced in this lab is Mains' Law, as it helps us to study the light intensity of a polarizer-analyzer relationship, which will be helpful in assessing the results of this experiment. Methods: 1. Place tape on lOLab to create an elevated surface above the light sensor 2. Place the polarized filters directly on top of each other (no angle between) 3. Measure distance of bottom of flashlight to polarized filters (10cm) 4. Record data for 10 seconds using light sensor on lOLab 5. Repeat steps 2-4 for two trials 6. Move polarized filters so that they are at a 10° degree using a protractor 7. Measure distance of bottom of flashlight to polarized filters (10cm) 8. Record data for 10 seconds using light sensor on lOLab 9. Repeat steps 6-8 for two trials 10. Repeat steps 6-8 moving the polarized filter 1 0° more each time until you reach 90° and recording data for two trials for each angle

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    Equations Used: Mallis' Law: 7 = 7 Q cos 6 Where 1= intensity of light after leaving the second polaroid, 7. = intensity of light before entering the second polaroid. and 6 = the angle between two polaroids. Note: when measuring the angle 6 it will be where the intensity of the light is 4- of the highest intensity measured. Results: Data table: background = 0.018 Angle Intensity liner 5tty witti backgroun d subtracted cos A 2(thetai 0 0 644 0.628 1 0 0 668 0 4 5 1 10 0 522 0 504 0 96984631 10 0 KM 0.466 0.96984631 20 0413 0.395 0.88 3022222 20 0 421 0.403 0.883022222 30 0 369 0 351 0.75 30 0 406 0.368 0.75 40 D 292 0.274 0.58 6824089 40 0 282 0 264 0.586824089 50 0216 0.198 0 413175911 50 0 232 0214 0 4 1 3 1 7 5 9 1 1 0 0 0 132 0.114 0 2 5 50 0 134 0 116 0 25 70 0 062 0.044 0.116977778 70 0 06? 0.044 0 116977778 00 0 032 0014 0.03015369 50 0 029 OOH 0 03015369 90 0.02 0 0 0 2 3.7S247E 33 90 0.018 0 3 75247E 33 0 = tmgle=?ncer?ai7£

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