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Last Updated: Wednesday, 22 July 2015 17:54

Written by Dr. Donald H. Mershon

Summary: Light exists as both particles (photons) and waves. The phenomenon known as polarization concerns the wave-related aspect of light. As light travels, it oscillates in all planes that are perpendicular to its direction of travel. Such light is identified as "unpolarized." Certain filters are capable of selectively removing some of the light – specifically, light that oscillates in or near a particular plane (e.g., vertical, horizontal, 50 deg, etc.) After passing through the filter, the remaining light would be described as polarized, relative to a particular axis. The uses of this characteristic of light are discussed.

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