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Light that has been fully plane-polarized by a good Polaroid is then made to fall on the surface of a prism at the Brewster angle. Which phenomenon best describes what happens at the prism surface?

1. The reflected and refracted rays are perpendicular to each other
2. The wave propagates along the surface of the prism
3. There is no refraction and total reflection occurs
4. There is no reflection and the light is totally transmitted

Correct answer: There is no reflection and the light is totally transmitted

Solution

At Brewster's angle the reflected light is completely polarized perpendicular to the plane of incidence; the component polarized in the plane of incidence is not reflected. If the Polaroid has prepared the light so that it has no perpendicular component (only the in-plane component remains), then there is no reflected ray at all and the light is fully transmitted (refracted) into the prism.

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