Related Concepts
Definition
Polarization refers to the orientation distribution of the electromagnetic waves that constitute light rays. Light can assume a range of polarization states including unpolarized (uniformly mixed orientations), linearly polarized (fixed orientations), and circularly polarized (rotating field about the line of sight).
Background
The polarization of light is a property that relates to the directionality of the constituent electric and magnetic fields. In free space, light consists of sinusoidally oscillating electric and magnetic fields that are orthogonal to each other and to the direction of propagation. In the case of perfectly linearly polarized light, as shown in Fig. 1, the two types of field remain in a fixed plane through space. For unpolarized light, the orientations of these planes are randomized through temporal and spatial location. Circular and elliptical polarizationsare also...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Hecht E (1998) Optics, 3rd edn. Addison Wesley, Reading
Tipler PA, Mosca G (2007) Physics for scientists and engineers, 6th edn. Freeman, New York
Born M, Wolf E (1999) Principles of optics. Electromagnetic theory of propagation, interference and diffraction of light, 7th edn. Pergamon, London
Main IG (1993) Vibrations and waves in physics, 3rd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Shurcliff WA (1962) Polarized light: production and use. Harvard University Press, Cambridge
Können GP (1985) Polarized light in nature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Chandrasekhar S (1960) Radiative transfer. Oxford University Press, New York
Jensen HW, Marschner SR, Levoy M, Hanrahan P (2001) A practical model for subsurface light transport. In: Proceedings of SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles, pp 511–519
Torrance K, Sparrow M (1967) Theory for off-specular reflection from roughened surfaces. J Opt Soc Am 57: 1105–1114
Beckmann P, Spizzichino A (1963) The scattering of electromagnetic waves from rough surfaces. Pergamon, New York
Umov N (1905) Chromatische depolarisation durch lichtzerstreuung. Phys Z 6:674–676
Shashar N, Cronin TW, Wolff LB, Condon MA (1998) The polarization of light in a tropical rain forest. Biotropica 30:275–285
Horváth G, Varjú D (1995) Underwater polarization patterns of skylight perceived by aquatic animals through Snell's window on the flat water surface. Vision Res 35: 1651–1666
Cronin TW, Shashar N, Caldwell RL, Marshall J, Cheroske AG, Chiou TH (2003) Polarization and its role in biological signalling. Integr Comp Biol 43:549–558
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Atkinson, G.A. (2014). Polarization. In: Ikeuchi, K. (eds) Computer Vision. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31439-6_570
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31439-6_570
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-30771-8
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-31439-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceReference Module Computer Science and Engineering