Wave Polarisation
Light and other electromagnetic waves are transverse waves, meaning their electric field vectors oscillate perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling. In ordinary, unpolarised light, these fields vibrate in every possible direction. Polarisation is the process of filtering or confining these oscillations into a single, definite geometric plane.
This interactive simulator allows you to model wave polarization in a 3D workspace. By propagating an electric field vector down a central axis and passing it through polarising lenses and analysers, you can observe exactly how shifting a filter's angle reduces a wave's amplitude according to Malus' Law.
How to use this simulator:
Light and other electromagnetic waves are transverse waves, meaning their electric field vectors oscillate perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling. In ordinary, unpolarised light, these fields vibrate in every possible direction. Polarisation is the process of filtering or confining these oscillations into a single, definite geometric plane.
This interactive simulator allows you to model wave polarization in a 3D workspace. By propagating an electric field vector down a central axis and passing it through polarising lenses and analysers, you can observe exactly how shifting a filter's angle reduces a wave's amplitude according to Malus' Law.
How to use this simulator:
- Rotate the Polarising Filter: Change the angle of the primary polarising grid to see how it restricts the random vibrations of the incoming wave into a single plane.
- Add a Second Analyser: Introduce a secondary filter downstream to observe how the relative angle ($\theta$) between the two filters cuts down the final wave amplitude and transmitted intensity.
- Observe Vector Projections: Examine the live 3D coordinate model to visualize how a wave vector is mathematically broken down into component parts as it encounters each boundary.
