News tagged with polarization
Dark matter may be an illusion caused by the quantum vacuum
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the biggest unsolved problems in astrophysics is that galaxies and galaxy clusters rotate faster than expected, given the amount of existing baryonic (normal) matter. The fast orbits ...
Aug 11, 2011 |
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Four reasons why the quantum vacuum may explain dark matter
(PhysOrg.com) -- Earlier this year, PhysOrg reported on a new idea that suggested that gravitational charges in the quantum vacuum could provide an alternative to dark matter. The idea rests on the hypothesis that particles ...
Nov 28, 2011 |
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Physicists Propose New Method for Quantum Computing
(PhysOrg.com) -- The new system, which can compute faster and more efficiently than previous quantum computers, may bring the technology closer to reality.
Jun 15, 2010 |
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Vikings could have steered by polarized light
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Vikings are said to have been able to navigate with the aid of "sunstones" that allowed them to see the sun on cloudy or foggy days. Now scientists in Hungary and Sweden say the sunstones ...
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Feb 03, 2011 |
4.9 / 5 (30) |
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Gravity Probe B confirms two Einstein theories
(PhysOrg.com) -- Stanford and NASA researchers have confirmed two predictions of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, concluding one of the space agency's longest-running projects.
May 04, 2011 |
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Europe, US to see snowy, cold winters: expert
Europe, North America and east Asia can expect more cold, moist and snowy winters such as the one just passed, a top scientist said Friday.
Jun 11, 2010 |
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Spin polarization achieved in room temperature silicon
(PhysOrg.com) -- A group in The Netherlands has achieved a first: injection of spin-polarized electrons in silicon at room temperature. This has previously been observed only at extremely low temperatures, ...
Nov 27, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (23) |
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Invisibility carpet cloak can hide objects from visible light
(PhysOrg.com) -- Most of the invisibility cloaks that have been demonstrated to date conceal objects at frequencies that are not detectable by the human eye. Designing invisibility cloaks that can conceal ...
Jun 15, 2011 |
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Arctic ice cover hits historic low: scientists
The area covered by Arctic sea ice reached its lowest point this week since the start of satellite observations in 1972, German researchers announced on Saturday.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 10, 2011 |
4 / 5 (25) |
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Smallest U-M logo demonstrates advanced display technology
In a step toward more efficient, smaller and higher-definition display screens, a University of Michigan professor has developed a new type of color filter made of nano-thin sheets of metal with precisely ...
Aug 24, 2010 |
4.9 / 5 (20) |
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Antarctic waters changing due to climate: study
The densest waters of Antarctica have reduced dramatically over recent decades, in part due to man-made impacts on the climate, Australian scientists said Friday.
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 04, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (22) |
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Planetary scientists solve 40-year-old mysteries of Mars' northern ice cap
Scientists have reconstructed the formation of two curious features in the northern ice cap of Mars—a chasm larger than the Grand Canyon and a series of spiral troughs—solving a pair of mysteries dating back ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 26, 2010 |
4.8 / 5 (18) |
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Radar Finds Ice Deposits at Moon's North Pole
(PhysOrg.com) -- Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits near the moon's north pole. NASA's Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, ...
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Mar 02, 2010 |
4.3 / 5 (19) |
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First-of-its-kind study finds alarming increase in flow of water into oceans
(PhysOrg.com) -- Freshwater is flowing into Earth's oceans in greater amounts every year, a team of researchers has found, thanks to more frequent and extreme storms linked to global warming. All told, 18 ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 04, 2010 |
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New 'FeTRAM' is promising computer memory technology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers are developing a new type of computer memory that could be faster than the existing commercial memory and use far less power than flash memory devices.
Sep 27, 2011 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
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Polarization
Polarization (also polarisation) is a property of waves that describes the orientation of their oscillations. This article primarily covers the polarization of electromagnetic waves such as light, although other types of wave also exhibit polarization.
By convention, the polarization of light is described by specifying the direction of the wave's electric field. When light travels in free space, in most cases it propagates as a transverse wave—the polarization is perpendicular to the wave's direction of travel. In this case, the electric field may be oriented in a single direction (linear polarization), or it may rotate as the wave travels (circular or elliptical polarization). In the latter cases, the oscillations can rotate rightward or leftward in the direction of travel, and which of those two rotations is present in a wave is called the wave's chirality or handedness. In general the polarization of an electromagnetic (EM) wave is a complex issue. For instance in a waveguide such as an optical fiber, or for radially polarized beams in free space, the description of the wave's polarization is more complicated, as the fields can have longitudinal as well as transverse components. Such EM waves are either TM or hybrid modes.
For longitudinal waves such as sound waves in fluids, the direction of oscillation is by definition along the direction of travel, so there is no polarization. In a solid medium, however, sound waves can be transverse. In this case, the polarization is associated with the direction of the shear stress in the plane perpendicular to the propagation direction. This is important in seismology.
Polarization is significant in areas of science and technology dealing with wave propagation, such as optics, seismology, telecommunications and radar science. The polarization of light can be measured with a polarimeter.
For more information about Polarization, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
