8 .

An unpolarized light consists of

(a) infinite number of plane polarized light

(b) finite number of plane polarized light

(c) only two plane polarized light

(d) none of these

9. In plane polarized light

(a ) the magnitude of light vectors changes and the orientation remains same

(b) the magnitude of light vectors remain same and the orientation changes

(c) both of magnitude and orientation change continuously

(d) none of the above

10. Number of optic axes in a uniaxial crystal is

(a) one

(b) two

(c) five

(d) ten

11. Number of optic axes in a bi-axial crystal is

(a) one

(b) five

(c) two

(d) ten

12. The optic axis is a direction along which

(a) the O-ray travels faster than the E-ray

(b) the E-ray travels faster than the O-ray

(c) both O-ray and E-ray travel with the same velocity

(d) none of the above

13. Ifθ p , be the angle of polarization, then the refractive index μ of the material is given by

(a) sinθ p

(c) tan θ p

(b) cos θ p

(d)secθ p

14 . If the refractive index of water is 1.33, the polarizing angle of light pond is given by reflected from
the surface of a pond is given by

(a) cos−1(1.33)

(b) tan−1(1.33)

(c)cot−1(1.33)

(d)sin−1(1.33)

15. An elliptically polarized light is a general case of

(a) only the linearly polarized light

(b) only the circularly polarized light

(c) both of linearly and circularly polarized light

(d) none of the above

16. If light is incident at the angle of polarization then the angle between the refelcted ray and the
refracted ray is

π
(a)
2

π
(b)
4

(c) π

3π
(d)
2

17. The action of Nicol prism is based on the phenomenon of

(a) scattering
(b) double refraction

(c) refraction.

18. The expression for specific rotation is

lc
(a) S=
θ

l
(b) S=
θc

θ
(c) S=
lc

c
(d) S =
θl

[Ans. 1. (c),2. (c), 3. (d), 4. (d), 5. (c), 6. (a), 7. (b), 8. (a), 9. (a), 10. (a), 11. (c ), 12. (c), 13. (c),

14. (b), 15. (c), 16. (a), 17. (b), 18. (c)]

Part 2: Short Questions with Polarization

Questions

1. Why is polarization so important in case of light?

2. What is polarization? State Brewster's law of polarization?

3. Explain why light waves can be polarized but that of sound cannot be polarized.

4. What is the difference between the natures of ordinary and extraordinary rays of light when
they pass through positive and negative crystals?

5. What are meant by uniaxial and biaxial crystals? Cite one example of each one.

6. Show that the maximum transmission through any polarizer is half of the maximum intensity of the
incident light.

Answers

Ans(1). The phenomenon of polarization is very important in case of light, because it is polarization
which is capable of proving that light is a transverse wave. No other property of light can confirm this
fact.
Ans(2). Polarization is a phenomenon of light due to which the vibrations of the electric and magnetic
vectors of a light wave can be restricted to remain confined in a plane only.
Brewster's law states that at angle of polarization, the refractive index of a polarizing substance is
equal to the tangent of the angle of polarization and the angle of polarization is that incident angle for
which the reflected beam becomes completely polarized. Also, the angle between the reflected
π
ray and the refracted ray becomes radian.
2

Ans(3). As we know, the sound waves are longitudinal waves where the particles of the medium vibrate
along the direction of propagation of the wave, for this reason, they cannot be polarized.
The propagation of the wave cannot be cut-off due to the longitudinal nature of it. But in case of light
waves, polarization is possible as it is a transverse wave. The polarization of light proves that light is a
transverse wave.

Ans(4). In case of the positive crystal, the ordinary ray moves faster than the extraordinary ray and
hence the refractive index of the extraordinary ray is more than that of ordinary ray. Quartz crystal is an
example of positive crystal. On the other hand, in case of a negative crystal, the extraordinary ray moves
faster than the ordinary ray, and hence the refractive index of the ordinary ray is greater than the
extraordinary ray. Calcite crystal is an example of negative crystal.

Ans(5). In some crystals there exists only one direction (or optic axis) along which the velocities of
ordinary and extraordinary rays are same. Such crystals are called uniaxial crystals. There is another kind
of crystal in which there exist two optic axes along which the velocities of O-ray and E-ray are same.
These type of crystals are called biaxial crystals. Examples of uniaxial crystals are calcite and quartz
crystals. Examples of biaxial crystals are aragonite and copper sulphate crystals.

Ans (6). Let I o be the intensity of the light which is incident on the polarizer. Let θ be the angle made by
the direction of polarization of the polarizer and the vibrations of the electric vector in the incident light
beam . So, according to the Malus law, the intensity of the light which has been transmitted through the
polarizer is given by the following equation:
2
I =I o cos θ

where I is the intensity of the polarized light. The incident light beam is unpolarized one. So,