Lineaaripolarisaattoreilla

Lineaaripolarisaattoreilla, often translated as linear polarizers, are optical filters that transmit light polarized in a particular direction while blocking light polarized in the perpendicular direction. They work by selectively absorbing or reflecting light waves based on their orientation. When unpolarized light, which consists of waves vibrating in all possible directions, passes through a linear polarizer, only the component of light vibrating parallel to the polarizer's transmission axis is allowed to pass through. The light that emerges is therefore linearly polarized.

The principle behind linear polarizers is based on the selective absorption of light by anisotropic materials or by reflection from surfaces. Common materials used for linear polarizers include Polaroid films, which contain long-chain molecules aligned in a specific direction. These molecules absorb light polarized parallel to their length. Another method involves using dichroic crystals, which exhibit different absorption properties for light polarized along different crystallographic axes. Non-linear optical effects can also be used to achieve polarization, but these are typically more complex and involve interactions with the material's electronic structure.

Linear polarizers have numerous applications in science and technology. They are widely used in photography to reduce glare and enhance colors, in sunglasses to reduce reflections from surfaces like water and roads, and in LCD screens where they control the passage of light to create images. They are also essential tools in scientific research for studying the polarization properties of light and materials, such as in microscopy, spectroscopy, and crystallography. The direction of polarization transmitted by a linear polarizer is known as its transmission axis, and this axis can be oriented to achieve specific optical effects.