Polarised Light in Science and Nature
- ISBN-10
- 1420033689
- ISBN-13
- 9781420033687
- Category
- Technology & Engineering
- Pages
- 124
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2001-02-13
- Publisher
- CRC Press
- Author
- J. David Pye
Description
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. Enriching our perception of the world, this book addresses these misconceptions and provides a framework for applications. It covers wave alignment and crystals as well as various phenomena such as scattering and reflection.
Get the book
Similar books
-
Animal Sciences: The Biology, Care, and Production of Domestic Animals, Fourth Edition
By John R. Campbell, M. Douglas Kenealy, Karen L. CampbellTimberlake claimed in 1980 that a fundamental problem with Singer's work is the lack of an adequate definition of suffering ...
-
Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate
By Laura Lengnick3. D. Layne. 2013. Tree Fruit: Protecting Your Investment. American/Western Fruit Grower, September/October. 4. R. Snyder and J. Melu-Abreu. 2005. Frost ...
-
Biodesign: The Process of Innovating Medical Technologies
By Stefanos Zenios, Josh Makower, Paul YockAt that time, these were in the low $10s of millions. ... be a good partner going forward, even though it takes longer to get the deal done," offered Chess.
-
Advanced Signal Processing: A Concise Guide
By Amir-Homayoon Najmi, Todd Moon[ 59 ] S. Kotz , T. J. Kozubowski , and K. Podgorski , The Laplace ... valued signal processing : The proper way to deal with impropriety , ” IEEE Trans .
-
Resources for Technical Communication
By Pearson Education, Pearson Education Staff, David P Pearson EducationSome documents are annotated; some are left without annotations to provide more flexibility for instructors. This booklet can be packaged at no additional cost with any Longman title in technical communication.
-
Chemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry; Chemistry Study Pack Version 2.0 CD-ROM; The Chemistry of Life CD-ROM;...
By Karen C. TimberlakeChemistry: An Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry; Chemistry Study Pack Version 2.0 CD-ROM; The Chemistry of Life CD-ROM;...
-
Poultry Science: Fifth Edition
By Colin G. Scanes, Karen D. ChristensenThe emission rates for ammonia (Casey et al., 2006): • Layers: 116 g NH3 per AU (AU or animal unit or 500 kg). • Broilers: 135 g NH3 per AU (AU or animal unit or 500 kg). Emission rates in different reports vary from less than either 10 ...
-
Solid State Materials Chemistry
By Patrick M. Woodward, Pavel Karen, John S. O. Evans[45] B.F. Hoskins, R. Robson, “Design and construction of a new class of scaffolding-like materials comprising infinite polymeric frameworks of 3D-linked molecular rods. A reappraisal of the zinc cyanide and cadmium cyanide structures ...
-
Abbreviations Dictionary
By Dean A. Stahl, Karen Landen... Tallest Mountain Mount Robson—12,972 feet or 3,954 meters—in the Canadian Rockies Canada's Westernmost City Dawson, Yukon Canada's Westernmost Point in Yukon Territory just east of Alaska's Demarcation Point Canary Islands' Largest ...
-
Agriculture: A Very Short Introduction
By Paul Brassley, Richard SoffeACCOUNTING Christopher Nobes ADVERTISING Winston Fletcher AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGION Eddie S. Glaude Jr AFRICAN HISTORY ... Hugh Bowden ALGEBRA Peter M. Higgins AMERICAN HISTORY Paul S. Boyer AMERICAN IMMIGRATION David A. Gerber AMERICAN ...