Polarized Light

The Oxford dictionary defines polarize as to confine similar vibrations of (light waves, etc) to a single direction or plane. Polarized light is light that's had its electric vector reflected in an orderly and predictable way. The difference between polarized light and unpolarized light is that unpolarized light is reflected in a random way, rather than organized, it is also more difficult to produce fully unpolarized light than completely polarized. It is the electric vector, …

…can be chosen so that for light reflection onto the plate there is a definite shift between the fast component, and the slow component. There is an equation that shows the retardation in waves: Where n - n is the birefringence, n is the slow index at wavelength , n is the fast index and d is the plate thickness. Wave plates can be made by cutting cross-cut sections of quartz, calcite or other birefringent chemicals.