Answer to Question #162586 in Optics for Terry

Question

What is meant by plane of polarisation?

Explain why the phenomenon of polarisation is met with in dealing with light waves, but not with sound waves.

Answer 1

The term plane of polarization refers to the direction of polarization of linearly-polarized light or other electromagnetic radiation.

The phenomenon that is not common to sound waves and light waves is polarization. Polarization can be seen only in transverse waves. As the light waves are transverse and the sound waves are longitudinal, only light waves undergo polarization. Therefore, the phenomenon of polarization is met with in dealing with light waves, but not with sound waves.