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This book describes a number of simple methods for showing that light is polarised and determining the direction of vibration. It is based on a demonstration lecture, called 'Polar Explorations in Light' developed for young audiences, at the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
We humans cannot see when light is polarized and this leads to
unfortunate misapprehensions about this aspect of nature. Even
scientists who should know better often assume that it is an
obscure topic of specialized interest in only a few rather isolated
areas. In fact, it is a universal feature of our world and most
natural light is at least partially polarized. In the animal
kingdom, insects and other animals exploit such natural
polarization in some fascinating ways since they do not share this
human deficiency and can both detect and analyze polarization. It
may be our unfamiliarity with this aspect of light that also makes
people think it is a difficult subject, yet the basis is extremely
simple. When these misconceptions are overcome, the phenomena
associated with polarization are found to be important throughout
science and technology, from physics, astronomy, natural history,
geology, chemistry, and several branches of engineering to crafts
such as glass-blowing and jewelry. Polarized light also involves
some very beautiful effects, most of which are easy to demonstrate.
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