ABSTRACT
The polarization phenomenon is used in many optical applications, such as testing plastic or glass under mechanical stress. Polarization is interesting wave property of transverse light waves. Polarization states are linear, circular, or elliptical according to the paths traced by electric field vectors in a propagating wave. Unpolarized light, such as light from an incandescent fluorescent tube, is a combination of all polarization states. There are three forms of polarization in light: linear polarization, elliptical polarization, and circular polarization. Polarization may result from the reflection of light from various surfaces, from refraction and double refraction of light through a crystal, from selective absorption of light in a crystal, and scattering by particles of the medium. The Faraday rotator works because one polarization of the input light is in ferromagnetic resonance with the material, which causes its phase velocity to be higher than the other.
