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KaiserBrandon
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Homework Statement
A glass vessel is placed between a pair of crossed HN-50 linear polarizers, and 50% of the natural light incident on the first polarizer is transmitted through the second polarizer. By how much did the sugar solution in the cell rotate the light passed by the first polarizer.
Homework Equations
[tex]I(\vartheta)=I(0)cos^{2}(\vartheta)[/tex]
where [tex]\vartheta[/tex] is the angle between the transmission axes of the polarizers, and I(0) is the irradience incident on the analyzer.
The Attempt at a Solution
I'm having a very hard time understanding how HN polarizers work, but here is my stab at the question:
An HN-50 polarizer transmits 50% of natural light incident on it. So If the natural light incident through the first polarizer is I, then I(0)=0.5I. So:
[tex]I(\vartheta)=0.5I*cos^{2}(90+\varphi)=0.5I[/tex]
the 90 is in the cos because the polarizers are crossed, and I'm assuming that means their transmission angles are perpindicular. and [tex]\varphi[/tex] is the angle that the sugar rotates the light. So, [tex]\varphi=-90[/tex].