Question

Unpolarized light passes through two Polaroid sheets. The transmission axis of the analyzer makes an angle of 40.0° with the axis of the polarizer. (b) What fraction of the original light is absorbed by the analyzer (the second polarizer)? (that is find (I adsorbed/ I incident on the first polarizer))

Answer 1

The intensity of the transmitted light after the first polarizer is

And the intensity of the transmitted light after the second polarizer is

Therefore the intensity absorbed by the second polarizer is

Now,

The fraction of the original light absorbed by the second polarizer is

So, the final answer is 0.2066.