The nature of polarized light using smartphones

Martín Monteiro, Cecilia Stari, Cecilia Cabeza, Arturo C. Marti

Originally an empirical law, nowadays Malus’ is seen as a key experiment to demonstrate the traversal nature of electromagnetic waves, as well as the intrinsic connection between optics and electromagnetism. More specifically, it is an operational way to characterize a linear polarized electromagnetic wave. A simple and inexpensive setup is proposed in this work, to quantitatively verify the nature of polarized light. A flat computer screen serves as a source of linear polarized light and a smartphone is used as a measuring instrument thanks to its built-in sensors. The intensity of light is measured by means of the luminosity sensor with a tiny filter attached over it. The angle between the plane of polarization of the source and the filter is measured by means of the three-axis accelerometer, that works, in this case, as an incliometer. Taken advantage of the simultaneous use of these two sensors, a complete set of measures can be obtained just in a few seconds. The experimental light intensity as a function of the angle shows an excellent agreement with standard results…
…. Read more at https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1607/1607.02659.pdf