Faradays Effect

Jishnu Rajendran
1211027
School Of Physical Sciences,NISER
March 17, 2016

Introduction
Faraday rotation is a magneto-optical phenomenonthat is, an interaction between light and a magnetic field
in a medium. The Faraday effect causes a rotation of the plane of polarization which is linearly proportional to
the component of the magnetic field in the direction of propagation.Any transparent substance whose molecules
are not mirror symmetric and which is not a racemic mixture of its enantiomorphic stereoisomers is optically
active to some degree, i.e. it exhibits the phenomenon of circular birefringence whereby the plane of polarization
of a beam of linearly polarized light passing through the substance is rotated by an amount proportional to the
distance traveled. Dextrose (otherwise known as d-glucose, one of the 16 stereoisomers of pentahydroxyaldehyde)
and d-tartaric acid (used in soft drinks) are nutritious examples of optically active substances. Pure or in
solution, they both rotate the plane of polarization counterclockwise relative to the direction of propagation;
their mirror images do the opposite and, incidentally, are not nutritious. Some crystals, e.g. natural quartz,
exhibit both optical activity and birefringence. In 1845 Faraday (1846) discovered that a magnetic field in the
direction of propagation of a light beam in a transparent medium produces the effects of circular birefringence.
Thus he established for the first time a direct connection between optics and electromagnetism - a connection
he had long suspected to exist and for which he had searched for many years. However, a half century passed
before an explanation of the Faraday effect was formulated in terms of Maxwells electromagnetic theory of light
(developed in the 1860s) and the concept of the atomicity of charge which had evolved during the 19th century
under the influence of electrochemistry and been validated by Thomsons discovery of the electron in 1897.

Objectives
To determine the magnetic flux density between the pole pieces using axial hall probe of the teslameter
for different coil currents. The mean flux density is calculated by numerical integration and the ratio
maximum flux-density over mean flux density established.
To measure the maximum flux density as a function of the coil current and to establish the relation
between the mean flux density and coil current anticipating that the ratio found in aim no. 1 remains
fixed.
To determine the angle of rotation as a function of the mean flux-density using different colour filters. To
calculate the corresponding verdets constant in each case.
To evaluate verdets constant as a function of wavelength.

Apparatus
1. Glass rod(SF6) 30mm
2. Coil, 600 turns - 2 no.s
3. Iron core, U-shaped, laminated
4. Halogen lamp
5. Double condenser, f = 60mm
6. Var. transformer, 25V AC/20V DC, 12A
7. Commutator switch
8. Tesla-meter and Axial Hall probe
9. Colour filter(440nm, 505nm, 525nm, 595nm)
10. Polarizing filter with Vernier
11. Lens, f = 150mm
12. Lens holders(5) and slide mount
13. connecting cords, 750mm - 3 no.s
14. Multimeter
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Figure 1: Addition of right and left circularly polarized components on two planes defined by x = 0 and x = D,
respectively. Because nl > nr , El is more retarded in phase at x = D relative to x = 0 than Er , with the result
that their sum at x = D is rotated clockwise by the angle = (nl nr )D/.

Theory
Representation of Linearly polarized light as a superposition of circularly polarized
components
The electric field vector E of a plane wave of linearly polarized light of frequency traveling in the +X direction
with its polarization in the Y direction can be represented by the expression
E(x, t) = Er + El

(1)

Er (x, t) = {0, (A/2) cos[(t nx/c)], (A/2)sin[(t nx/c)]}

(2)

El (x, t) = {0, (A/2) cos[(t nx/c)], (A/2)sin[(t nx/c)]}

(3)

where
and
represent the electric field vectors in plane waves of right and left circularly polarized light, respectively. The
amplitude of E is A, and the velocity of propagation is c/n where n is the index of refraction of the medium.
Thus a beam of linearly polarized light can be considered as a linear superposition of right and left circularly
polarized components.
Under certain circumstances the velocities of right and left circularly polarized light may be different, as
in d-glucose or in a substance in which there is a magnetic field. In such a circumstance one can calculate
separately the propagation of the two components and then recombine them to obtain the electric vector of the
resultant linearly polarized wave. The net effect, as we now show, is a rotation of the plane of polarization. To
indicate a difference in velocities for right and left circularly polarized waves we replace the index n in equations
2 and 3 by nr and nl , respectively. As illustrated in Figure 1, the electric vector on the y-z plane at x = D is
then
E(D, t) = Er (D, t) + El (D, t)
(4)
Using the identities
cos() + cos() = 2 cos(/2 + /2) cos(/2 /2)

(5)

sin() sin() = 2 cos(/2 + /2) sin(/2 /2)

(6)

and
we find for the electric field at x = D the expression
E(D, t) = {0, A cos[(t (nr + nl )D/2c)] cos[(nl nr )D/2c], A cos[(t (nr + nl )D/2c)] sin[(nl nr )D/2c]}
(7)
This represents an oscillating electric field of amplitude A inclined with respect to the y- axis by an angle
= tan1 (

(nl nr )D
(nl nr )D
Ez
)=
=
Ey
2c

(8)

where is the wavelength of the light in vacuum. Thus circular birefringence can be explained as an effect of
a difference in the propagation velocities of right and left circularly polarized light. The difference is generally
very small, amounting to only a few parts per million in optically active materials as well as in the Faraday
effect at moderate magnetic field strengths. However, in a typical setup D/  l so that even minute differences
between nl & nr yield values of which are large enough to be measured accurately.
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Magnetic circular birefringence - Becquerels theory of the faraday effect

Experiments established early on that the Faraday rotation angle is proportional to the product of D and
the magnetic field B. Thus
=V DB
(9)
where V is a proportionality factor called the Verdet constant. The question remained as to how one might
calculate the value of V from the fundamental physics of light, magnetism, and matter.
Up to this point in our development we have only used the two ideas; 1)light is a linearly superposable
transverse wave with velocity c/n, and 2) nr 6= nl . The first step in understanding the Faraday effect in terms
of electromagnetic theory and the atomic structure of matter was taken by H. Becquerel, in 1897. His theory
was based on the concept of the newly discovered electron, but it did not include the idea of quantized energy
states introduced by Planck in 1900, or the concept of light quanta, developed by Einstein in 1905. Even though
the Becquerel theory does not make use of quantum principles, it does provide a simple conceptual framework
for a preliminary understanding of the phenomenon, and yields quantitative predictions for the Verdet constant
that are remarkable close to the measured values. The next substantial steps beyond this theory were not taken
until the early 1930s, but then only in gases (Serber, 1932; Van Vleck, 1932). A large amount of theoretical
and experimental work has been done on the Faraday effect in solids since 1960, because of its application to
semiconductors and the construction of microwave switching devices. Recent theoretical treatments are very
complex, as a perusal of reviews (e.g. Mavroides 1972) will show. Incidentally, the theory of the Faraday effect
in ionized gas, where the active agents are free electrons, is not so complicated. The effect is important in radio
astronomy because it provides a measure of the average value of the product Br ne along the line of sight to a
source of linearly polarized radio emission, where Br is the component of the magnetic field along the line of
sight and ne is the free electron density (typically Br 106 gauss, ne 0.1cm3 ). Following Becquerel and
subsequent presentations of his theory (see e.g. Rossi 1957), we assume that a transparent material contains
particles of mass m and charge q embedded in a continuum of opposite charge and restrained by elastic force
to vibrate about fixed sites. We consider the situation in which there is a steady magnetic field B of magnitude
B in the +X direction and a plane right circularly polarized electromagnetic wave which, at a given point,
produces a rapidly varying electric field E of constant magnitude E rotating clockwise with respect to B in a
plane perpendicular to B. In the steady state the charged particles move in a circle of radius r governed by the
equation (cgs units)
m 2 r = kr + Eq + Bqr/c
(10)
where k is the spring constant of the restraining force. For left circularly polarized light the sign of magnetic
term is reversed. Equation 10 is readily resolved to obtain for r the formula
r = (Eq/m)/(02 2 Bq/mc)

(11)

where 0 = (k/m)1/2 .

Figure 2: The particle, with mass m and charge q, is fixed to the end of a spring, with spring constant k,
attached rigidly to the x axis. The directions of light propagation and the B field are parallel to the x axis; the
E field is perpendicular to the x axis and rotates in the yz plane.
Displacement of a charge q from its oppositely charged equilibrium site by the distance r creates an electric
dipole of magnitude qr. If there are N such dipoles per unit volume, then the polarization P has the magnitude
N qr, and the permittivity is = (1 + 4P/E). Therefore, in a dielectric where the permeability = 1 and the
propagation velocity v = c/1/2 and in the presence of a magnetic field, we obtain for the index of refraction
for right circularly polarized light the expression
nr () = c/v = [1 + (4N q 2 /m)/(02 2 Bq/mc)]1/2
3

(12)

and for left circularly polarized light

nl () = c/v = [1 + (4N q 2 /m)/(02 2 + Bq/mc)]1/2

(13)

Equations 12 and 13 show that the indices blow up as the frequency of the light approaches a value
such that 02 2 Bq/mc = 0. (One can avoid this unphysical consequence of our simple assumptions by
adding to the equation of motion a damping term representing a drag force proportional to the velocity of the
charged particle. Such a term can give a classical account of the phenomenon of absorption. Both the indices
of refraction and the absorption coefficient have maxima near 0 . Fortunately, omission of a damping term has
very little effect on the accuracy of the theory at frequencies far from 0 , as in the present case.) The sign of
the effect of the magnetic field on the indices of refraction for circularly polarized light depends on the sign of
the product Bq. In particular, for right circular polarization with B in the direction of propagation (Bx > 0)
and negatively charged particles, Bq < 0, which implies a decrease in nr andacorrespondingincreaseinnl .
Therefore, under these assumptions (nl nr ) > 0 and, according to equation 8, > 0. The change of nr caused
by turning on a magnetic field B is equal to the change of nr when the frequency of the light is changed from
to + r , where r is defined by the quadratic equation
2 + Bq/mc = ( + r )2

(14)

The solution of this equation is r = Bq/2mc. Similarly,

2 Bq/mc = ( + l )2

(15)

and l = Bq/2mc. These 0 s are very small compared to . Thus the difference in indices can be written
with high accuracy as
nl nr = (dn/d)(l r ) = (dn/d)(2 /2c)(Bq/mc)

(16)

where = 2c/ is the vacuum wavelength of light. Combining equations 8 and 16 we obtain for the angle of
faraday rotation
q
dn

DB
(17)
=
d 2c2 m
Thus the Verdet constant is related to the constants of the interacting particles by the formula
V =

dn
q
2
d 2c m

(18)

Equation 18 is the formula derived by H. Becquerel. It was characterized by Van Vleck (1932) as rather
too simple. Indeed, the quantum treatment of the problem in even the simplest of materials is complicated,
and the results depend critically on the nature of the medium, i.e. whether it is dielectric, semiconducting,
diamagnetic, paramagnetic, ferromagnetic, etc. Of course this means that measurements of the Faraday effect
can be of value in the study of the electronic structure of matter provided an adequate theoretical framework
for its interpretation is available. We will bury the complications by defining a constant C such that equation
18 is written as
e
dn
V =
2 C
(19)
d 2c
me
where e and me are the charge and mass of the free electron. It is reassuring that for visible light in ordinary
molecular hydrogen gas, H2 , the value of C is 0.99. For other substances and other spectral bands the values
of C can be substantially different from unity and, in some cases, even negative. In the case of the interstellar
medium where the effect is due to the presence of free electrons one has 0 = 0 and C = 1.
There exists a relation between the wavelength and the Verdets constant


n2 () 1
B
V () =
A+ 2
(20)
n()
20
where A = 15.71 107 rad T 1 , B = 6.34 1019 rad m2 T 1 , 0 = 156.4nm and n() is the refractive
index of the material at a given wavelength.

Experimental Set-up and Procedure

The equipment was set up as shown in 3 and 4. The 50 W experimental lamp was supplied by the 12 V AC
constant volt- age source. The DC output of the power supply which was variable be- tween 0 and 20 V DC,
was connected via an multimeter to the coils of the electromagnet which were in series. The electromagnet
4

Figure 3: Experimental set-up for the quantitative treatment of the Faraday Effect

1 Condenser,f =6mm,
2 Coloured glass,
3 Polariser,
4 Test specimen(flint glass SF6),
5 Analyser,
Figure 4:
6 Lens, f =15cm,
7 Screen

needed for the experiment was constructed from a laminaded U-shaped iron core, two 600-turn coils and the
drilled pole pieces, the electromagnet was then being arranged in a stable manner on the table on rod.
After the flux-density distribution was measured, the 30 mm long flint glass cylinder was inserted in the pole
piece holes and the jack was raised such that the magnet was interpolated in the experimental set-up between
the two polarisation filters.
First of all, the experiment lamp, fitted with a condensor having a focal length of 6 cm, was fixed on the
optical bench. This was followed by the diaphragm holder with coloured glass, two polarisation filters and a
lens holder with a mounted lens of f = 15cm. A translucent screen was put in a slide mount at the end of the
optical bench. The ray paths have been traced in 4.
The planes of polarisation of the two polarisation filters were initially arranged in parallel. The experiment
lamp was switched on and the incandescent lamp moved into the housing until the image of the lamp filament
was in the objective lens plane. The electromagnet was then moved into the path of the image rays and was
positioned so that the pole piece holes with the inserted glass cylinder are aligned with the optical axis. By
sliding the objective lens along the optical bench, the face of the glass cylinder was sharply projected onto the
screen. Adjustment was completed by inserting the coloured glass in the diaphragm holder. The polarizing filter
permanently had a position of +900 . In this case the analyser had a position of 00 for perfect extinction
with being a function of the coil current, respectively of the mean flux-density.
The maximum coils current under permanent use was 3.5 A. However, the current could be increased up to
4 A for a very few minutes without risk of damage to the coils by overheating.

Observations and Calculations

Table 1: Magnetic flux density as a function
Position of hall probe(in cm) 0.5A
-1
-0.6
-0.5
0.3
0
5.9
0.5
21.6
1
31.3
1.5
31.3
2
30.1
2.5
18.1
3
3.1
3.5
0.2
4
-0.6
Average
20.2

of position between the two pole pieces of magnets

1A
1.5A
2A
2.5A
3A
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0
0.2
1.2
1.7
3.1
3.8
5
11.7
19.1
21.6
31.3
40
47.8
71.6
90.5
114.9
140
64.9
93.5
122.4
150.5
179.9
64.1
93.6
123.5
151.4
180.5
61.5
89.9
119.4
143.4
171.9
35.2
48.8
71.3
80.5
95.3
6
9.5
12
10.2
12.1
0.2
0.6
1.1
1.5
1.5
-0.5
-0.3
-0.3
-0.2
-0.2
41.6 60.85714 80.1 97.45714 117.1

Figure 5: Variation of magnetic field with distance and current

Not all data points are mentioned

Figure 6: Calibration curve for magnetic field as a fucntion of current

Not all data points are mentioned

Filter = 595 nm

Table 2: Data set for =

Current(A) Magnetic field(mT)
0
0
0.5
20.2
1
41.6
1.5
60.857
2
80.1
2.5
97.457
3
117.1

595 nm
1 2
0
0
0.4 0.6
1
0.8
1.8 1.6
2.2 2.2
3
3.2
4.2 3.8

0
0.5
0.9
1.7
2.2
3.1
4

Figure 7: linear variation of with magnetic field for = 595nm.

Not all data points are mentioned

Filter=580nm

Table 3: Data set for =580nm

Current(A) Mag. Field(mT) 1 2
0
0
0
0
0.5
20.2
1.2 0.8
1
41.6
1.4 1.8
1.5
60.857
2.6 3.2
2
80.1
3.6
4
2.5
97.457
4.6 4.6
3
117.1
4.6 5.2

0
1
1.6
2.9
3.8
4.6
4.9

Figure 8: linear variation of with magnetic field for = 580nm.

Not all data points are mentioned

Filter = 525nm

Table 4: Data set for =525nm

Current(A) Mag. field(mT) 1 2
0
0
0
0
0.5
20.2
1.2 0.8
1
41.6
2.2. 1.6
1.5
60.857
3.6 2.4
2
80.1
5.2 3.8
2.5
97.457
6
5
3
117.1
7
5.2

0
1
1.9
3
4.5
5.5
6.1

Figure 9: linear variation of with magnetic field for = 525nm.

Not all data points are mentioned

10

Table 5: Data set for

Current(A) Mag. field(mT)
0
0
0.5
20.2
1
41.6
1.5
60.857
2
80.1
2.5
97.457
3
117.1

= 505nm
1 2
0
0
0.6 0.6
1.2
3
2.7
4
4
4.2
4.8
6
5.4 6.8

0
0.6
2.1
3.35
4.1
5.4
6.1

Figure 10: linear variation of with magnetic field for = 505nm.

Determination of Verdets constant as a function of wavelength

The graphs of the above section give us the values of the slope which is the product of the Verdets constant
and the length of the glass rod. To obtain the Verdets constant, we divide the slopes with the distance of the
glass rod which is 30 mm.

Results
The change in angle of polarization was seen to be increasing linearly with increasing magnetic field.
The verdets constant was seen to be decreasing with increasing magnetic field.
The change in angle of polarisation became opposite when the magnetic field polarity was flipped.
Not all data points are mentioned

11

Table 6: Calculated verdets constant as a function of wavelength

Wavelength(nm) Slope in (deg. T 1 ) Verdets const. (deg T 1 m1 )
505
55.43
1847.67
525
54.61
1820.33
580
42.48
1416
595
35.36
1178.7

Figure 11: variation of Verdets constant with wavelength

Sources of error
This experiment relies on detecting changes in the intensity of the spot of light formed after it emerges out of
the polariser through the lens. Hence the maximum error can occur in the measurement of slight changes in
state of polarization by our bare eyes. This error can be minimized if we use a highly sensitive detector which
can project the images on a computer screen having enough resolving power to detect even slight changes in
intensity. More errors can occur due to loose fittings. The polariser and analyser rotators may become loose
in the process of making measurements. It should be minimized by using tight screws and also taking care not
to turn it in opposite directions alternately. Even a slight loosening can change the angle that we measure on
the analyser. At no point the intensity drops to zero (we can see a bluish dim light). This is a manufacturing
defect of the polariser and analyser.

Precautions
1. Care should be taken while handling the glass rod. Its ends should be clean.
2. The polariser and analyser should be fixed firmly on the optical bench.
3. At high currents, the coil will heat up fast, the current has to be manually adjusted continuously.

12