Brewster's Angle: Light in Ethanol to Crown Glass - Significance

[physicsgal]

question:

'light travels from ethanol into crown glass. what's the brewster's angle?' and what is the significance of this angle?'

so i have:
nr = 1.52 (crown glass
ni = 1.36 (ethanol)

so it's 1.52/1.36 tan-1 = 48.2 degrees?

and what is the significance of 48 degrees?

any help is appreciated.

~Amy

 

[berkeman]

They're not asking what is the significance of 48 degrees. They're asking what is special about Brewster's angle. For example, what practical optical devices take advantage of the Brewster's angle phenomenon?

 

[physicsgal]

k.. just reading the question here, in my first post i just wrote the short version of the question. is says:

..."what is the significance of this angle of incidence?"

sorry for any confusion..

~Amy

 

[Chi Meson]

The Brewster's angle is the angle of incidence at which some phenomenon is at its maximum. If you can find the formula, you should be able to find the phenomenon.

 

[physicsgal]

here's what i wrote:
Note: 0 = theta

'sin 0R = ni(sin 48.2)/nR
0R = 41.8 degrees

the angle of incidence is important because (0B = 48.2) + (0R = 41.8) = 90 degrees. the angle of 90 degrees indicates the reflected light is completely polarized parallel to the interface.'


~Amy

 

[berkeman]

That's a pretty good answer, Amy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster's_angle