Polarization
hidePolarization (also polarisation) is a property of waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations. This article primarily covers the polarization of electromagnetic waves such as light, although other types of wave also exhibit polarization.
By convention, the polarization of light is described by specifying the direction of the wave's electric field. When light travels in free space, in most cases it propagates as a transverse wave—the polarization is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel. In this case, the electric field may be oriented in a single direction (linear polarization), or it may rotate as the wave travels (circular or elliptical polarization). In the latter cases, the oscillations can rotate rightward or leftward in the direction of travel, and which of those two rotations is present in a wave is called the wave's chirality or handedness. In general the polarization of an electromagnetic (EM) wave is a complex issue. For instance in a waveguide such as an optical fiber, or for radially polarized beams in free space, the description of the wave's polarization is more complicated, as the fields can have longitudinal as well as transverse components. Such EM waves are either TM or hybrid modes.
For longitudinal waves such as sound waves in fluids, the direction of oscillation is by definition along the direction of travel, so there is no polarization. In a solid medium, however, sound waves can be transverse. In this case, the polarization is associated with the direction of the shear stress in the plane perpendicular to the propagation direction. This is important in seismology.
Polarization is significant in areas of science and technology dealing with wave propagation, such as optics, seismology, telecommunications and radar science. The polarization of light can be measured with a polarimeter.
For more information about Polarization, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with polarization
Spin polarization achieved in room temperature silicon
Nov 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A group in The Netherlands has achieved a first: injection of spin-polarized electrons in silicon at room temperature. This has previously been observed only at extremely low temperatures, ...
Creating a six-qubit cluster state
Nov 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Many scientists believe that quantum entanglement is required in order for effective quantum computing. Entanglement takes place when there is a connection that exists between two objects - even when they ...
JQI researchers create entangled photons from quantum dots
Nov 18, 2009 |
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To exploit the quantum world to the fullest, a key commodity is entanglement—the spooky, distance-defying link that can form between objects such as atoms even when they are completely shielded from one another. Now, physicists ...
Scientists demonstrate laser with controlled polarization
Apr 13, 2009 |
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Applied scientists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) in collaboration with researchers from Hamamatsu Photonics in Hamamatsu City, Japan, have demonstrated, for the first time, ...
Physicists find unusual electronic properties in bismuth-based crystalline material
Feb 19, 2009 |
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Physicists at Rutgers University have discovered unusual electronic properties in a material that has potential to improve solar cell efficiency and computer chip design.
Physicists are first to 'squeeze' light to quantum limit
Jan 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of University of Toronto physicists have demonstrated a new technique to squeeze light to the fundamental quantum limit, a finding that has potential applications for high-precision ...
Domain walls that conduct electricity
Jan 29, 2009 |
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The logic and memory functions of future electronic devices could shrink dramatically - to one or two nanometers (billionths of a meter) instead of the many tens of nanometers that characterize today's most ...
Scientists find new set of multiferroic materials
Oct 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The trail to a new multiferroic started with the theories of a U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory scientist and ended with a multidisciplinary collaboration that created ...
Magnetic fields play larger role in star formation than previously thought
Sep 09, 2009 |
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The simple picture of star formation calls for giant clouds of gas and dust to collapse inward due to gravity, growing denser and hotter until igniting nuclear fusion. In reality, forces other than gravity also influence ...
To regenerate muscle, cellular garbage men must become builders
Sep 22, 2009 |
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For scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo, Italy, what seemed like a disappointing result turned out to be an important discovery. Their findings, published online this week ...
Five-Dimensional DVD Could Hold Data of 30 Blu-ray Discs
May 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While many people think that Blu-ray will replace DVDs in the near future, a new study shows that DVDs may still have a lot to offer. Researchers have designed a five-dimensional DVD that ...
Magnetic Vortex Switch Leads to Electric Pulse
Apr 08, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Arkansas have shown that changing the chirality, or direction of spin, of a nanoscale magnetic vortex creates an electric pulse, suggesting that such a pulse might be of use ...
How an enzyme tells stem cells which way to divide
May 14, 2009 |
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Driving Miranda, a protein in fruit flies crucial to switch a stem cell's fate, is not as complex as biologists thought, according to University of Oregon biochemists. They've found that one enzyme (aPKC) ...
NSLS-II Project Beamline Conceptual Designs
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The NSLS-II Experimental Facilities Division achieved an important milestone in September when the conceptual design reports for the initial six project beamlines were completed and submitted to NSLS-II management.
Reverse Chemical Switching of a Ferroelectric Film
Feb 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Ferroelectric materials display a spontaneous electric polarization below the Curie temperature that can be reoriented, typically by applying an electric field. In this study, researchers ...
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