Several everyday phenomena are listed below.
• Sunlight arriving at Earth’s surface
• Sound produced by a loudspeaker in open air
• Ripples that spread across the surface of a pond when a stone is dropped
• Seismic S-waves that travel through Earth’s crust after an earthquake
Answer the following questions about the nature of these waves and their behavior when a polarizing device is used.
(1) For each of the four waves, state whether it can in principle be polarized.
(2) For each wave you classified, give a clear physical explanation that relates the orientation of the disturbance of the medium (or field) to the direction of energy propagation.
(3) A student places a mechanical grill made of closely spaced vertical rods in the path of a large loudspeaker and claims the grill will polarize the sound. Describe quantitatively or qualitatively what the student would observe and explain the underlying reason.