Experimental for Malus Law
Malus Law Experiment. The goals of this experiment are to determine the connection between the intensity of light passed through the analyzer and the angle ‘′ between the polarizer and analyzer axes. The following equipment was used: The following are the experiment’s requirements: A laser diode.
Setup and Equipment for Malus Law Experiments
To perform the experiment we can use the following setup and procedure for experiment.
- Set up the laser, photodiode, polarizer and analyzer as shown in the picture to test Malus’ law.
- Make sure that the polarizer and analyzer are perpendicular to the laser beam and that the beam passes through point a. the “good” part of polarizers – look for minimum dispersion etc.
- As the laser passes through the polarizer, the analyzer, and then the detector, make sure that the polarizer and the driving shafts of the analyzer are parallel. This is how you can work from 0o do that hold the polarizer still and rotate the analyzer until you detect the transmission maximum.
- Note down the maximum current Imax and the angle as o.
- Here, the emission axes of the polarizer and the analyzer are parallel.
- Rotate the analyzer in 10o increments of o to obtain ‘θ’ from 0o to 360o . Take readings intensity in every corner.
- The intensity of light beam that passes through polarizer and analyzer was measured by the light sensor.
- The rotary motion sensor measures the angle that was obtained from rotating the second analyzer relative to the first polarizer.
- In each case the current is noted and tabulated in
- Plot a graph with the current ‘Iexpt’ on the Y-axis and the analyzer rotation angle on the X-axis. The graph clearly shows the cosineness of the curve, which confirms Malus’ law.
Observations of Experiment
In above mentioned experiment we can observe the following things.
- Smallest number of circular scales in polarizer and analyzer
- First polaroid (polarizer) values 0₁
- Lux meters (maximum) after Ist polaroid P (I0)
Using these observations, we can calculate the value of required intensity.
Malus Law
Malus Law, also known as Malus Law of Polarization, is a fundamental principle in optics that describes how the intensity of polarized light changes as it passes through a polarizer. It is named after Étienne-Louis Malus, a French physicist who formulated the law in 1808.
In this article, we will discuss the concept of Malus Law which describes the intensity of change in the intensity of polarized light.
Table of Content
- What is Malus Law?
- Malus Law Formula
- Principles of Malus Law
- Experimental for Malus Law
- Limitations of Malus Law