TBR and Wikipremed mistake w/ polarizers?

[MrNeuro]

Ive noticed that in both TBR and wikipremed they show unpolarized light and polarizer and that the light coming out the end of the polarizer is parallel to the wires when according to wiki this in fact quite the opposite where the light coming out is perpendicular to the plane of the wires on the polarizer

am i reading wiki incorrectly or is TBR and wikipremed wrong?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[davcro]

It shouldn't matter. We aren't expected to understand the mechanism of polarizers. That's high level physics.

All we need to know is that polarizers allow one orientation of light waves to pass through. The rest are absorbed. How they are absorbed doesn't matter. The MCAT won't show a picture of a polarizer and ask which way the light will be orientated when it passes through. Or if they do ask that we won't arrive at the answer by looking at "wires". I don't think a polarizer has wires in it anyways.

 

[BerkReviewTeach]

Ive noticed that in both TBR and wikipremed they show unpolarized light and polarizer and that the light coming out the end of the polarizer is parallel to the wires...

What wires are you talking about? I think if you are visualizing wires like a bread slicer then you need to modify your visual. As mentioned by davcro above, it really doesn't matter how you picture it, as long as you know the concept of polarized filtering. If you consider the fact that the E and M waves are in perpendicular planes, then every polarizer is allowing waves that are in line with and perpendicular to the wires of a polarizer. One is the outgoing E wave and the other is the outgoing M wave. This makes the variation between pictures moot point at the level of the MCAT.

Know the basic concept and have a few applications in your head and you'll be fine.

 

[gettheleadout]

I get davcro and BRT's points here but, I also see where MrNeuro is coming from; I always assumed the lines (wires) drawn in the polarizer corresponded to the orientation of the polarized waves.