Thank you for your help!
A polarizer, as I understand it, blocks/absorbs some light waves and orients the remaining light waves linearly (on a plane, actually, that diverges from the y-axis by θ) as it passes through the "picket fence" openings of the polarizer. If you have 2 polarizers...
OK...I think I figured out some of this:
A2: (a) I think the formula for both polarizers is: I = Io cos^2(15°) Io cos^2 (30°) which ends up to be I = 0.6998 Io or 69.98% (rounded)
A2: (b) Still not quite sure how to figure out the polarization angle mathematically other than I'm pretty sure...
If the light passes through the first polarizer at 15° and then passes through another polarizer at 45° to vertical, then is the effect cumulative? Would it then be 45° + 15° = 60° overall?
Homework Statement
1. Vertically polarized light from a helium neon laser passes through a linear polarizer with its axis of polarization oriented 15° from the vertical axis. Assuming no absorption or reflection:
(a) What percentage of the light will be transmitted?
(b) What will be the...