WAVE THEORY OF LIGHT

 NATURE OF LIGHT:-
Until middle of the seventeenth century it was believed that light
consisted of a stream of corpuscles emitted by light sources and
travelled outward from the sources in straight lines (Newton's
Corpuscular Theory). The corpuscles could penetrate transparent
material and were reflected from the surfaces of opaque material.
When they entered the eye, they caused the sense of light
By the middle of the 17th century the idea had begun to develop that
light might be a wave motion. Huygens' in 1678 showed that the
laws of reflection and refraction could be explain on the basis of a
wave theory. The theory also gave a simple explanation of the
phenomenon of double refraction discovered much letter. The wave
theory could however not be immediately accepted. It was objected
that if light were a wave motion one should be able to see around
corners since waves can bend around obstacles in their paths. Later
Fresnel explained the wavelengths of light waves are very small so
the bending which actually does take place is so small that it is not
ordinarily observed.
After about 1827 experiment of Young and Fresnel on interference
and the measurement of the velocity of light in liquids by Foucault
demonstrated phenomena which could not be correctly explained by
the corpuscular theory but could be explained successfully by wave
theory. Young's experiment enabled him to measure the wavelength
of the Waves and Fresnel showed the rectilinear propagation of light
as well as a diffraction effects observed by Grimaldi could be
explained if light was considered as a wave of short wavelength.
The next forward step in the theory of light was taken by Maxwell
who in 1873 showed theoretically that an oscillating electrical
circuit should radiate electromagnetic wave propagating with the
velocity of light. This suggested that light consisted of
electromagnetic waves of extremely short wavelength. 15 years
later, Hertz succeeded in producing short wavelength wave of
electromagnetic origin and showed that they possess all the
properties of light waves is a Reflection, Refraction, Polarization
etc. Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of light was experimentally
justified.
The electromagnetic theory, however, failed to account for the
phenomena of photoelectric emission (the ejection of electrons from
a conductor by light incident on a surface). In 1905, Einstein adopted
Planck's Quantum hypothesis and postulated that the energy in a
light beam, instead of being distributed some space in the electric
and magnetic fields of an Electromagnetic wave, was concentrated
in small packet or "photons".
The energy of a photon was considered to be proportional to the
frequency of the light. The photoelectric effect thus consisted in the
transfer of energy from a photon to an electron. Experiments by
Millikan showed that the Kinetic energies of photoelectrons were
in exact agreement with the formula proposed by Einstein. Still
another striking confirmation of the photon nature of light is the
Compton effect. Campton, in 1921, determined the motion of a
photon and a single electron, both before and after a "collision"
between them and found that they behaved like material bodies
having kinetic energy and Momentum both of which were
conserved in the collision. The photoelectric effect and Compton
Effect thus demanded a return to corpuscular type of theory of light.
The present standpoint of physicist is to accept the fact that light is
dualistic in nature. The phenomena of light propagation may best
be explained by the electromagnetic wave theory, while the
interaction of light with matter in the process of emission and
absorption is a corpuscular phenomenon.

 WAVE FRONT AND ITS DIFFERENT

SHAPES:
If we draw a surface in a medium such that all the medium particles
lying in the surface are in the same phase of oscillation, then the
surface is called a wave front.
Wave front can be of different shapes:

 PLANE OR LINEAR WAVEFRONT: If a wave is travelling in a

medium along a single direction, then at any instant the
particles of the medium situated on a surface drawn
perpendicular to the direction will be oscillating in the same
phase. In this case the wave front will be 'plane' and the rays
will be straight parallel lines.

 SPHRERICAL WAVEFRONT: If the waves in a medium are

originating from a point-source, then they propagate in all
directions. If we draw a sphere, taking a point source as Centre
then particles of the medium situated on the surface of the
sphere will be oscillating in the same phase. The reason is that
the disturbance starting from the source will reach all these
particles simultaneously. Hence, in this case the wave front will
be Spherical and the rays will be radial lines.
 HUYGENS' WAVE THEORY:-
In 1678 Huygens proposed the wave theory of light. According to
Huygens light travels in the form of waves. These waves after
emerging from the light source travel in all directions with the
velocity of light. Since waves require a medium to travel Huygens
imagined an all pervading medium called 'Aluminiferous Ether'. It
was assumed that this hypothetical medium is weightless and can
penetrate through matter. It has all properties necessary for the
propagation of light waves. For example light travels with a very high
speed (3× 10^8 m/s). Hence it was assume that the density of ether is
very small and the elasticity is very large (wave speed is equals to
under root elasticity by density). Light waves travel in such a
hypothetical medium. When these waves fall upon the retina of the
eye they cause the sensation of light. Different colours of light are
attributed to be due to waves of different wavelength.

 HUYGENS' PRINCIPLE:-
Huygens' proposed a geometrical construction to explain the
propagation of a wave front in the medium and determined the
position of the wave front after any interval of time. This is known as
Huygen’s Principle and may be stated as follows:
1. Every particle of the medium situated on the wavefront act
as a new wave source from which fresh waves originate. These
waves are called secondary wavelets.
2. The secondary wavelets travel in the medium in all
directions with the speed of the original wave (light) in the
medium.
 3. The envelope of the secondary wavelets in the forward
direction at any instant gives the new wave front at that instant.
Let us illustrate the principle by considering the propagation of a
spherical and a plane wave front. Let AB be the section of a wave
front at any instant in a homogeneous isotropic medium. Let 'v' be
the velocity of light in the medium. To find the position of the wave
front after an interval’t’ the following Huygens’ construction is done:
 A number of points a,b,c...are taken on the wave front A B. All
these points are the Origins of secondary wavelets.
 Taking each point as centre circles of radii 'vt' are drawn. The
circles represent sections of secondary spherical wavelets in the
plane of paper.
 A tangent A'B' which is common to all the circles in the forward
direction is drawn. It is a section of the envelope of the
secondary wavelets and gives the position of the new wave front
after the interval’t’.
The direction in which the disturbance is propagated is called the
'ray'. In a homogeneous isotropic medium, the rays are always
normal to the wave front, as shown by arrows.
The Huygens's construction gives a backward wave front also (shown
by dotted lines) which is contrary to the observation. This is because
the intensity of the secondary wavelets varies continuously from a
maximum in the forward direction to 0 in the backward direction.
Huygens ‘Principle can be used to explain the phenomenon of
refraction and reflection of light on the wave theory.
 REFLECTION OF A PLANE WAVE AT A
PLANE SURFACE:
Let SS' be the section of the plane reflecting surface and AB that of a
plane wave front striking it at A. Let ‘v’ be the velocity of light and ‘t’
seconds the time for the edge B of the wave front to reach the
surface at A'
According to Huygens' principle each point on the wave front AB acts
as a source of secondary wavelets in the presence of SS', as the wave
front advances, the point on the SS' successively struck by the wave
front become the source of the secondary spherical wavelets. Thus,
after time t when the wave front strikes the point A', the secondary
wavelet from A has acquired a radius:
AB'=BA'=vt
Whereas the secondary wavelets from A' just starts. Let us draw a
tangent A'B' from A' to the secondary wavelets from A. If A'B' be a
tangent common to all the secondary wavelets started from the
different points between A and A' then A'B' would represent the
reflected wave front.

From ∆ABA' ,
sin i= BA'\AA'
From ∆AB'A',
sin r = AB'/AA'
From these equations,
 sin i / sin r = BA'/AA' × AA'/AB'
= vt/vt = 1
Therefore,
Sin i = Sin r
Or, i=r
I.e. the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. This is
the second law of reflection. Since, AB, AB' and SS' are in the plane
of the paper, they will also be in the same plane. Therefore, the
incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of
incidence are all in the same plane. This is the first law of reflection.

REFRACTION OF A PLANE WAVE AT A PLANE

SURFACE: SNELL'S LAW
Let SS' be the section of a plane refracting surface separating media
1 and 2 and AB that of a plane wave front is striking it at A. Let v1 and
v2 be the velocity of light into media where v1> v2. Let t be the time
for edge B of the wave front to reach A', so that
BA'= v1t
In the absence of SS', the wave front AB would have advanced to the
position AD after a time t where A'D is parallel to AB and
AD = BA'= v1t
But in the presence of SS', as the wave front advances, the points
between A and A' successively struck by the wave front become the
sources of secondary spherical wavelets. Thus , after time t the
secondary wavelets from A in medium 2 has acquired a radius AB'=
v2t, whereas the secondary wavelet from A' has just started.
Now,
𝐵𝐴′ 𝑣2
𝐴𝐵′ = 𝑣2 𝑡 = 𝑣2 = 𝐴𝐷
𝑣1 𝑣1

𝑣2 𝐴𝐵′
Or, =
𝑣1 𝐴𝐷

𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 2
=
𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑖𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 2 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡

Let us draw a tangent A'B' from A' to the secondary wavelets from A.
If A'B' be a tangent common to all the secondary wavelets started
from the different points between A and A' then A'B' would represent
the refracted wave front.
Let M be any point on AB. Let us draw MPQ parallel to BA' and PM
perpendicular to A'B'.
Now, in similar ∆ PA'M' and ∆ AA'B', we have
𝑃𝐴′ 𝑃𝑀′
=
𝐴𝐴′ 𝐴𝐵′
And in similar ∆PA'Q and ∆AA'D,
we have,
𝑃𝐴′ 𝑃𝑄
=
𝐴𝐴′ 𝐴𝐷
Therefore,
𝑃𝑀′ 𝑃𝑄
=
𝐴𝐵′ 𝐴𝐷

Hence,
 𝑃𝑀′ 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 2
=
𝑃𝑄 𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 2 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡

Since PQ if the radius of wavelets from p if medium 2 were absent;

PM' must be the radius of the wavelet from P in the medium to. As
PM' is drawn perpendicular to A'B', the wavelet from P must touch
A'B'. Since P is any point between A and A', AB is the common
tangent to the wavelets from all points between A and A' . Hence,
A'B' is refractive wave front.

 Proof of Laws of Refraction:

Since rays of light are normal to the wave front; a, b, c and a', b', c'
represent the incident and the refracted rays respectively. Let AN and
A'N' be normal to SS' , and i and r the angles of incidence and
refraction respectively. As the angle between two straight lines is
equal to the angle between the normal’s we have,

i = cAN = BAA'
r = NA'A' = AA'B'
Therefore,
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝐵𝐴𝐴′
=
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝐴′𝐵′
𝐵𝐴′ 𝐴𝐴′ 𝐵𝐴′
= × 𝐴𝐵′ = 𝐴𝐵′
𝐴𝐴′

But BA'= v1t and AB'= v2t

Therefore,
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒊 𝒗𝟏
= = constant.
𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒓 𝒗𝟐

This is the Snell's law of refraction, called second law of refraction. It

is also clear that the incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at
the point of incidence are in the same plane. This is the first law of
refraction.
Snell had simply shown on the basis of experiments on refraction of
light that
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
= constant.
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟

This constant is called 'refractive index of the second medium with

respect to the first medium' and is denoted by n12.
Thus,
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
= 1 n2
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑟

Huygens not only proved from his wave theory that sin i / sin r is a
constant n12but also proved that this constant n12 is equal to the ratio
of the speeds of light in the two media. Thus, according to the wave
theory, we have

1
𝑣1 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
2𝑛 = =
𝑣2 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚
If the first medium is vacuum (or air) and 2nd medium is water then
the refractive index of water is
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚 (𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑖𝑟)
n=
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟

The speed of light in vacuum is represented by c. Let the speed of

light in water be v. Then,
 𝑐
𝑛=𝑣
𝑐
Or, v= 𝑛

n is greater than 1 (n>1)

Therefore, v<c
i.e the speed of light in water (denser medium) is less than the speed
of light in air (rarer medium). This result obtained by wave theory
was found correct by Foucault's experiment

 OPTICAL PATH:-
If a light ray Travels a distance D in a medium whose refractive index
with respect to air (or vacuum) is n, then the product nD is called the
'optical path' travelled by the light ray.
If v be the speed of light ray in a medium of refractive index n, then,
according to Wave theory,
we have,
v = c/n,
where c is speed of light in air (or vacuum). For travelling a distance D
in this medium, the time taken by the light ray is given by
t= D/v= D × n/c = nD/c
In the same time t, the distance travelled by the light ray in air (or
vacuum) is
𝑛𝐷
d=c×t=c× = nD
𝑐
Clearly, a light ray travels a distance D in a medium of refractive
index n in the same time as it travels a distance nD in air (or
vacuum).

EFFECT OF WAVELENGTH OF LIGHT IN

GOING FROM ONE MEDIUM TO ANOTHER:
When light passes from one medium to another, then its frequency µ
does not change but its speed and hence its wavelength changes. If
the speed of light in water be v and the wavelength be ᴧw then
v = µ ᴧw
In vacuum (or air) the speed of light is c. If the wavelength be ᴧ, then
c = µᴧ
We can write it as,
𝑐 ᴧ
=
𝑣 ᴧ𝑤
But ,
c/v = n (refractive index of water with respect to air).
Therefore,
ᴧ
n=ᴧ
𝑤

ᴧ
Or , ᴧ𝒘 =
𝒏

Since n is greater than 1, therefore, the wavelength decreases or to

generalize the concept we can say that greater is the refractive
index of a medium, smaller would be the wavelength of light in
that medium.

 SOME PHENOMENON RELATED TO SPEED

OF LIGHT:-

A. INTERFERENCE:-
In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves
superpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same
amplitude. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves
that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they
come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly
the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all
types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic, surface water
waves or matter waves.

 Optical interference:-
Because the frequency of light waves (~1014 Hz) is too high to be
detected by currently available detectors, it is possible to observe
only the intensity of an optical interference pattern. The intensity of
the light at a given point is proportional to the square of the average
amplitude of the wave. This can be expressed mathematically as
follows. The interference pattern maps out the difference in phase
between the two waves, with maxima occurring when the phase
difference is a multiple of 2π. If the two beams are of equal intensity,
the maxima are four times as bright as the individual beams, and the
minima have zero intensity. The two waves must have the same
polarization to give rise to interference fringes since it is not possible
for waves of different polarizations to cancel one another out or add
together. Instead, when waves of different polarization are added
together, they give rise to a wave of a different polarization state.

 Light source requirements:-

The discussion above assumes that the waves which interfere with
one another are monochromatic, i.e. have a single frequency—this
requires that they are infinite in time. This is not, however, either
practical or necessary. Two identical waves of finite duration whose
frequency is fixed over that period will give rise to an interference
pattern while they overlap. Two identical waves which consist of a
narrow spectrum of frequency waves of finite duration, will give a
series of fringe patterns of slightly differing spacing’s, and provided
the spread of spacing is significantly less than the average fringe
spacing, a fringe pattern will again be observed during the time when
the two waves overlap.
Conventional light sources emit waves of differing frequencies and at
different times from different points in the source. If the light is split
into two waves and then re-combined, each individual light wave
may generate an interference pattern with its other half, but the
individual fringe patterns generated will have different phases and
spacings, and normally no overall fringe pattern will be observable.
However, single-element light sources, such as sodium- or mercury-
vapor lamps have emission lines with quite narrow frequency
spectra. When these are spatially and colour filtered, and then split
into two waves, they can be superimposed to generate interference
fringes. All interferometry prior to the invention of the laser was done
using such sources and had a wide range of successful applications.
A laser beam generally approximates much more closely to a
monochromatic source, and it is much more straightforward to
generate interference fringes using a laser. The ease with which
interference fringes can be observed with a laser beam can
sometimes cause problems in that stray reflections may give spurious
interference fringes which can result in errors.
Normally, a single laser beam is used in interferometry, though
interference has been observed using two independent lasers whose
frequencies were sufficiently matched to satisfy the phase
requirements. This has also been observed for wide field interference
between two incoherent laser sources.
It is also possible to observe interference fringes using white light. A
white light fringe pattern can be considered to be made up of a
'spectrum' of fringe patterns each of slightly different spacing. If all
the fringe patterns are in phase in the centre, then the fringes will
increase in size as the wavelength decreases and the summed
intensity will show three to four fringes of varying colour. Young
describes this very elegantly in his discussion of two slit interference.
Since white light fringes are obtained only when the two waves have
travelled equal distances from the light source, they can be very
useful in interferometry, as they allow the zero path difference fringe
to be identified.

 Optical Arrangement:-
To generate interference fringes, light from the source has to be
divided into two waves which have then to be re-combined.
Traditionally, interferometers have been classified as either
amplitude-division or wave front-division systems.
 In an amplitude-division system, a beam splitter is used to divide
the light into two beams travelling in different directions, which are
then superimposed to produce the interference pattern. The
Michelson interferometer and the Mach-Zehnder interferometer are
examples of amplitude-division systems.
In wave front-division systems, the wave is divided in space—
examples are Young's double slit interferometer and Lloyd's mirror.
Interference can also be seen in everyday phenomena such as
iridescence and structural coloration. For example, the colours seen
in a soap bubble arise from interference of light reflecting off the
front and back surfaces of the thin soap film. Depending on the
thickness of the film, different colours interfere constructively and
destructively.

B.DIFFRACTION:
Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when a wave
encounters an obstacle or a slit. It is defined as the bending of waves
around the corners of an obstacle or aperture into the region of
geometrical shadow of the obstacle. In classical physics, the
diffraction phenomenon is described as the interference of waves
according to the Huygens–Fresnel principle that treats each point in
the wave-front as a collection of individual spherical wavelets. These
characteristic behaviours are exhibited when a wave encounters an
obstacle or a slit that is comparable in size to its wavelength. Similar
effects occur when a light wave travels through a medium with a
varying refractive index, or when a sound wave travels through a
medium with varying acoustic impedance. Diffraction has an impact
on the acoustic space. Diffraction occurs with all waves, including
sound waves, water waves, and electromagnetic waves such as
visible light, X-rays and radio waves.
Since physical objects have wave-like properties (at the atomic level),
diffraction also occurs with matter and can be studied according to
the principles of quantum mechanics. Italian scientist Francesco
Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to
record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1660.
While diffraction occurs whenever propagating waves encounter
such changes, its effects are generally most pronounced for waves
whose wavelength is roughly comparable to the dimensions of the
diffracting object or slit. If the obstructing object provides multiple,
closely spaced openings, a complex pattern of varying intensity can
result. This is due to the addition, or interference, of different parts of
a wave that travel to the observer by different paths, where different
path lengths result in different phases (see diffraction grating and
wave superposition). The formalism of diffraction can also describe
the way in which waves of finite extent propagate in free space. For
example, the expanding profile of a laser beam, the beam shape of a
radar antenna and the field of view of an ultrasonic transducer can
all be analyzed using diffraction equations.

 Mechanism:
In traditional classical physics diffraction arises because of the way in
which waves propagate; this is described by the Huygens–Fresnel
principle and the principle of superposition of waves. The
propagation of a wave can be visualized by considering every particle
of the transmitted medium on a wave front as a point source for a
secondary spherical wave. The wave displacement at any subsequent
point is the sum of these secondary waves. When waves are added
together, their sum is determined by the relative phases as well as
the amplitudes of the individual waves so that the summed
amplitude of the waves can have any value between zero and the
sum of the individual amplitudes. Hence, diffraction patterns usually
have a series of maxima and minima. In the modern quantum
mechanical understanding of light propagation through a slit (or
slits) every photon has what is known as a wave function which
describes its path from the emitter through the slit to the screen. The
wave function (the path the photon will take) is determined by the
physical surroundings such as slit geometry, screen distance and
initial conditions when the photon is created. In important
experiments (A low-intensity double-slit experiment was first
performed by G. I. Taylor in 1909, see double-slit experiment) the
existence of the photon's wave function was demonstrated. In the
quantum approach the diffraction pattern is created by the
distribution of paths, the observation of light and dark bands is the
presence or absence of photons in these areas (no interference!). The
quantum approach has some striking similarities to the Huygens-
Fresnel principle, in that principle the light becomes a series of
individually distributed light sources across the slit which is similar to
the limited number of paths (or wave functions) available for the
photons to travel through the slit.
There are various analytical models which allow the diffracted field
to be calculated, including the Kirchhoff-Fresnel diffraction equation
which is derived from wave equation, the Fraunhofer diffraction
approximation of the Kirchhoff equation which applies to the far field
and the Fresnel diffraction approximation which applies to the near
field. Most configurations cannot be solved analytically, but can yield
numerical solutions through finite element and boundary element
methods.
It is possible to obtain a qualitative understanding of many
diffraction phenomena by considering how the relative phases of the
individual secondary wave sources vary, and in particular, the
conditions in which the phase difference equals half a cycle in which
case waves will cancel one another out.
The simplest descriptions of diffraction are those in which the
situation can be reduced to a two-dimensional problem. For water
waves, this is already the case; water waves propagate only on the
surface of the water. For light, we can often neglect one direction if
the diffracting object extends in that direction over a distance far
greater than the wavelength. In the case of light shining through
small circular holes we will have to take into account the full three-
dimensional nature of the problem.

C. POLARIZATION:-
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse
waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In
a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to
the direction of motion of the wave. A simple example of a polarized
transverse wave is vibrations travelling along a taut string (see
image); for example, in a musical instrument like a guitar string.
Depending on how the string is plucked, the vibrations can be in a
vertical direction, horizontal direction, or at any angle perpendicular
to the string. In contrast, in longitudinal waves, such as sound waves
in a liquid or gas, the displacement of the particles in the oscillation is
always in the direction of propagation, so these waves do not exhibit
polarization. Transverse waves that exhibit polarization include
electromagnetic waves such as light and radio waves, gravitational
waves, and transverse sound waves (shear waves) in solids. In some
types of transverse waves, the wave displacement is limited to a
single direction, so these also do not exhibit polarization; for
example, in surface waves in liquids (gravity waves), the wave
displacement of the particles is always in a vertical plane. An
electromagnetic wave such as light consists of a coupled oscillating
electric field and magnetic field which are always perpendicular; by
convention, the "polarization" of electromagnetic waves refers to the
direction of the electric field. In linear polarization, the fields oscillate
in a single direction. In circular or elliptical polarization, the fields
rotate at a constant rate in a plane as the wave travels. The rotation
can have two possible directions; if the fields rotate in a right hand
sense with respect to the direction of wave travel, it is called right
circular polarization, or, if the fields rotate in a left hand sense, it is
called left circular polarization.
Light or other electromagnetic radiation from many sources, such as
the sun, flames, and incandescent lamps, consists of short wave
trains with an equal mixture of polarizations; this is called
unpolarized light. Polarized light can be produced by passing
unpolarized light through a polarizing filter, which allows waves of
only one polarization to pass through. The most common optical
materials (such as glass) are isotropic and do not affect the
polarization of light passing through them; however, some
materials—those that exhibit birefringence, dichroism, or optical
activity—can change the polarization of light. Some of these are used
to make polarizing filters. Light is also partially polarized when it
reflects from a surface.
According to quantum mechanics, electromagnetic waves can also be
viewed as streams of particles called photons. When viewed in this
way, the polarization of an electromagnetic wave is determined by a
quantum mechanical property of photons called their spin. A photon
has one of two possible spins: it can either spin in a right hand sense
or a left hand sense about its direction of travel. Circularly polarized
electromagnetic waves are composed of photons with only one type
of spin, either right- or left-hand. Linearly polarized waves consist of
equal numbers of right and left hand spinning photons, with their
phase synchronized so they superpose to give oscillation in a plane.
Polarization is an important parameter in areas of science dealing
with transverse waves, such as optics, seismology, radio, and
microwaves. Especially impacted are technologies such as lasers,
wireless and optical fibre telecommunications, and radar.

 Wave propagation and polarization:-

Most sources of light are classified as incoherent and unpolarized (or
only "partially polarized") because they consist of a random mixture
of waves having different spatial characteristics, frequencies
(wavelengths), phases, and polarization states. However, for
understanding electromagnetic waves and polarization in particular,
it is easiest to just consider coherent plane waves; these are
sinusoidal waves of one particular direction (or wavevector),
frequency, phase, and polarization state. Characterizing an optical
system in relation to a plane wave with those given parameters can
then be used to predict its response to a more general case, since a
wave with any specified spatial structure can be decomposed into a
combination of plane waves (its so-called angular spectrum). And
incoherent states can be modelled stochastically as a weighted
combination of such uncorrelated waves with some distribution of
frequencies (its spectrum), phases, and polarizations.

 Transverse electromagnetic waves:-

A "vertically polarized" electromagnetic wave of wavelength λ has its electric field vector E (red)
oscillating in the vertical direction. The magnetic field B (or H) is always at right angles to it
(blue), and both are perpendicular to the direction of propagation (z).

Electromagnetic waves (such as light), traveling in free space or

another homogeneous isotropic non-attenuating medium, are
properly described as transverse waves, meaning that a plane wave's
electric field vector E and magnetic field H are in directions
perpendicular to (or "transverse" to) the direction of wave
propagation; E and H are also perpendicular to each other.
Considering a monochromatic plane wave of optical frequency f (light
of vacuum wavelength λ has a frequency of f = c/λ where c is the
speed of light), let us take the direction of propagation as the z axis.
Being a transverse wave the E and H fields must then contain
components only in the x and y directions whereas
Ez = Hz = 0.

 Non-transverse waves:-
In addition to transverse waves, there are many wave motions where
the oscillation is not limited to directions perpendicular to the
direction of propagation. These cases are far beyond the scope of the
current article which concentrates on transverse waves (such as most
electromagnetic waves in bulk media), however one should be aware
of cases where the polarization of a coherent wave cannot be
described simply using a Jones vector, as we have just done.
In considering electromagnetic waves, we note that the preceding
discussion strictly applies to plane waves in a homogeneous isotropic
non-attenuating medium, whereas in an anisotropic medium (such as
birefringent crystals as discussed below) the electric or magnetic field
may have longitudinal as well as transverse components. In those
cases the electric displacement D and magnetic flux density B still
obey the above geometry but due to anisotropy in the electric
susceptibility (or in the magnetic permeability), now given by
a tensor, the direction of E (or H) may differ from that of D (or B).
Even in isotropic media, so-called inhomogeneous waves can be
launched into a medium whose refractive index has a significant
imaginary part (or "extinction coefficient") such as metals; these
fields are also not strictly transverse. Surface waves or waves
propagating in a waveguide (such as an optical fibre) are
generally not transverse waves, but might be described as an electric
or magnetic transverse mode, or a hybrid mode.
Even in free space, longitudinal field components can be generated in
focal regions, where the plane wave approximation breaks down. An
extreme example is radically or tangentially polarized light, at the
focus of which the electric or magnetic field respectively
is entirely longitudinal (along the direction of propagation).
For longitudinal waves such as sound waves in fluids, the direction of
oscillation is by definition along the direction of travel, so the issue of
polarization is not normally even mentioned. On the other hand,
sound waves in a bulk solid can be transverse as well as longitudinal,
for a total of three polarization components. In this case, the
transverse polarization is associated with the direction of the shear
stress and displacement in directions perpendicular to the
propagation direction, while the longitudinal polarization describes
compression of the solid and vibration along the direction of
propagation. The differential propagation of transverse and
longitudinal polarizations is important in seismology.