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Polarization is observed in the light of the sky, as this is due to sunlight scattered by aerosols as it passes through Earth's atmosphere. The scattered light produces the brightness and color in clear skies. This partial polarization of scattered light can be used to darken the sky in photographs, increasing the contrast.
In electrodynamics, circular polarization of an electromagnetic wave is a polarization state in which, at each point, the electromagnetic field of the wave has a constant magnitude and is rotating at a constant rate in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the wave. In electrodynamics, the strength and direction of an electric field is ...
Linear polarization. Diagram of the electric field of a light wave (blue), linear-polarized along a plane (purple line), and consisting of two orthogonal, in-phase components (red and green waves) In electrodynamics, linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic ...
For light and other electromagnetic radiation, the plane of polarization is the plane spanned by the direction of propagation and either the electric vector or the magnetic vector, depending on the convention. It can be defined for polarized light, remains fixed in space for linearly-polarized light, and undergoes axial rotation for circularly ...
Polarizability. Polarizability usually refers to the tendency of matter, when subjected to an electric field, to acquire an electric dipole moment in proportion to that applied field. It is a property of particles with an electric charge. When subject to an electric field, the negatively charged electrons and positively charged atomic nuclei ...
Optical rotation, also known as polarization rotation or circular birefringence, is the rotation of the orientation of the plane of polarization about the optical axis of linearly polarized light as it travels through certain materials. Circular birefringence and circular dichroism are the manifestations of optical activity.
Polarizers which maintain the same axes of polarization with varying angles of incidence [clarification needed] are often called [citation needed] Cartesian polarizers, since the polarization vectors can be described with simple Cartesian coordinates (for example, horizontal vs. vertical) independent from the orientation of the polarizer surface.
Construction. The polarimeter is made up of two Nicol prisms (the polarizer and analyzer). The polarizer is fixed and the analyzer can be rotated. The prisms may be thought of as slits S1 and S2. The light waves may be considered to correspond to waves in the string.