User:Dave3457/Sandbox/Polarizer

A polarizer is a device that converts a beam of electromagnetic waves (light ) of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam with well-defined polarization. Linear polarizers generally deal exclusively with linear polarization while circular polarizers generally deal with both linear and circular polarization. Polarizers are used in many optical techniques and instruments, and polarizing filters find applications in photography and liquid crystal display technology.

Polarizers can be divided into two general categories: absorptive polarizers, where the unwanted polarization states are absorbed by the device, and beam-splitting polarizers, where the unpolarized beam is split into two beams with opposite polarization states. My understanding is that the word “polarizer” makes reference to the output while “analyzer” makes reference to the input and so the statement is accurate.

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A polarizer is a device that converts a beam of electromagnetic waves (light) of undefined or mixed polarization into a beam with well-defined polarization. Polarizers are used in many optical techniques and instruments, and polarizing filters find applications in photography and liquid crystal display technology.

Polarizers can be divided into two general categories: absorptive polarizers, where the unwanted polarization states are absorbed by the device, and beam-splitting polarizers, where the unpolarized beam is split into two beams with opposite polarization states.