Past exam of the optics and electrodynamics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 1 a Solution 2026-10-18
At an air–glass interface, resolve the incident unpolarized light into components perpendicular () and parallel () to the plane of incidence. The Fresnel equations give the parallel reflection coefficientAt Brewster's angle, . Together with Snell's law, this gives and . Thus, taking the incident medium to be air,The remaining reflected component has linear polarization perpendicular to the plane of incidence. This assumes a transparent, nonmagnetic glass with negligible absorption.