Plane of polarization

The term plane of polarization refers to the direction of polarization of linearly-polarized light or other electromagnetic radiation. Unfortunately the term is used with two contradictory meanings. As originally defined by Étienne-Louis Malus in 1811, the plane of polarization happened to coincide with the plane containing the direction of propagation and the magnetic vector; but this was not known at the time. In modern literature, the term plane of polarization, if it is used at all, more often refers to the plane containing the direction of propagation and the electric vector, because the electric field has the greater propensity to interact with matter. That propensity, together with Malus's definition and Fresnel's speculations on the luminiferous aether, led early investigators to define the "plane of vibration" as perpendicular to the plane of polarization and containing the direction of propagation.

This history must be taken into account when interpreting the term plane of polarization in existing literature. Sometimes the meaning can only be inferred from the context. In original writing, confusion can be avoided by specifying the orientation of a particular vector.

References

Category:Light Category:Optics Category:Physical optics Category:Polarization (waves) Category:Electromagnetic radiation Category:Antennas (radio) Category:History of physics