Malus Law

1. State Malus Law.

Malus’s law states that the intensity of plane-polarized light passing through an analyzer is directly proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle between the plane of the polarizer and the transmission axis of the analyzer.

2. Who Discovered Malus Law?

Étienne-Louis Malus, a French physicist, discovered Malus’s Law in 1808.

3. What is the Equation for the Malus Law?

The law is expressed as I(θ) = I_o cos² θ , where I is the intensity of the polarized light after passing through a polarizer, I₀​ is the initial intensity, and is the angle between the light’s initial polarization direction and the axis of the polarizer.

4. How do you Find the Angle in Malus Law?

To find the angle θ, you typically need the initial and final light intensities. Rearrange the equation to solve for θ, θ = cos^⁡−1 √(I/I₀).

5. What is Malus Theory of Light?

Malus proposed that light consists of waves with specific polarization directions. His law quantifies how the intensity of polarized light changes as it passes through a polarizing filter, depending on the angle of polarization.

6. What is Brewster Law?

Brewster’s Law states that light will be completely polarized upon reflection at a specific angle, known as Brewster’s angle. The law is given by tan(θ_B​)=n, where θ_B​ is Brewster’s angle and n is the refractive index of the material.

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.