asked 226k views
1 vote
(c) At what angle of incidence will the light reflected from water (u= 1.3) be completely polarized?​

asked
User Sinkmanu
by
7.5k points

1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

When unpolarized light is reflected off a non-metallic surface at a specific angle of incidence, the reflected light becomes polarized. This angle of incidence is known as Brewster's angle and can be calculated using the formula:

tan θp = n

where θp is Brewster's angle and n is the refractive index of the medium the light is passing into.

In this case, the light is passing from air (which has a refractive index of approximately 1) into water with a refractive index of 1.3. Therefore, we can plug in the values into the formula and solve for θp:

tan θp = 1.3

θp = tan^-1(1.3)

Using a calculator, we get θp = approximately 53.1 degrees.

Therefore, light reflected from water will be completely polarized at an angle of incidence of approximately 53.1 degrees.

answered
User Tenmiles
by
7.7k points