Lab Assignemnt

Lab 1 is a lab experiment using a laser and photometer to observe the behavior of a plane wave incident from air onto the surface of dielectric material. The on-campus students perfom this experiment in our undergraduate lab. As online students, you will be watching videos embedded in the Powerpoint presentations of another student performing the experiment. You will need to view the Powerpoint file as a slide show and watch the embedded video content. and then record the data and analyze it as instructed.

Note that the situation of recording and analyzing data from an experiment performed in another location by another person is not all that unusual in science and engineering. In fact the world wide web was invented as a means for scientists to remotely obtain data generated by experiments at CERN, the large particle physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.

The PDF document is the lab manual for the experiment, and describes the pre-lab exercises you need to complete prior to performing the lab.
The Powerpoint presentation contains audio and embedded videos. Note that for each angle for both polarizations, you will need to click on the picture to see the video showing the measurement. Also note that this experiment requires you to be able to take readings using an analog meter with a switchable scale. Below is a quick primer on how to do this for one of the measurements:

For an incident angle of 10 degrees and parallel polarization, the meter is set to a scale (maximum deflection equal to) 0.03.

Reading the top scale, you would have o.45/ito.03 = 0.0135 mW

Reading the bottom scale, you would have 1.35/3*0.03 = 0.0135 mW

Keep in mind that a full scale deflection on either bottom or top scales corresponds to a reading of 0.03

Here is a link to a video on YouTube showing more detail on reading an analog multimeter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rGDx92McTY

QUESTIONS

1. Is the parallel polarized wave a special case of linear polarization?

2. A laser beam which is either parallel or perpendicularly polarized is traveling in air. How can you determine the polarization of the beam by using a Plexiglas sample?

3. A laser beam operating at 10¹³Hz is normally incident on the surface of water. Water has the following parameters: ε_r = 80, μ_r = 1,  σ = 20 x 10³ S/m.

a. Is water a good dielectric or a good conductor in this case? Why?

b. Calculate the magnitude of the reflection coefficient.

4. For which type of polarization does the Brewster angle exist for nonmagnetic materials? At the Brewster angle of incidence, what is the angle made by the refracted ray with the reflected ray?

Attachment:- Lab.zip