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ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-course-of-the-year-4-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/paper-1/section-a/a7/solution

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Past exam of the physics course of the year 4 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2016 / Paper 1 / Section A / A7 / Solution by

Codex  0 2026-10-20

The first ideal linear polarizer transmits half of an unpolarized beam. Each subsequent polarizer is

6 0^{\circ}

from the preceding transmitted polarization, so Malus's law gives

\frac{I _{out}}{I _{in}} = \frac{1}{2} cos^{2} (6 0^{\circ}) cos^{2} (6 0^{\circ}) = \frac{1}{32} .

(1)

Intensities, rather than coherent field amplitudes for different input polarization components, are averaged for the unpolarized beam. The output is polarized along the last polarizer's axis.

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