Incident Intensity of light transmitted

[Kathi201]

An unpolarized beam of light is incident on a group of three polarizing sheets that are lined up so that the characteristic direction of each is rotated by 45 degrees clockwise with respect to the preceding sheet. What is the fraction of the incident intensity Io that is transmitted?
a. zero
b. Io/2
c. Io/4
d. Io/6
E. Io/8

My thoughts were that if you take the cosine of the angle 45 and square it as shown in the intensity equation you get .5, so therefore the answer would be Io/2, but I am not quite sure if this theory is right.

 

[Doc Al]

You need to consider what happens as the light passes through each polarizer.

 

[Kathi201]

as it passes through each sheet .5 is passed through each polarizer and there is three of them so would you take .5 x .5 x .5 = .125 which would be E. Io/8 ?

 

[Doc Al]

You got it.

 

[Kathi201]

Thanks for your help!