A physics club wants to build a demonstration that shows how polarizing elements can be used to differentiate between two types of waves generated by the same source. They propose the following setup:
• A speaker–diaphragm apparatus mounted on one end of a long air column produces pressure waves at 500Hz.
• On the opposite end of the same rigid frame, a stretched taut ribbon is mechanically driven at the same frequency, producing waves along its length.
• Between the source region and a detector, the students can insert either (i) a set of parallel metal slits aligned vertically or (ii) an identical set of slits that can be rotated to any angle in the horizontal plane.
The students claim that by comparing the transmitted intensity of each wave through the two orientations of slits, they will be able to identify which of the two waves shows polarization effects.
(1) Explain whether the students’ claim is valid for the pressure wave in the air column. Support your reasoning by discussing the displacement of particles in the medium relative to the direction of propagation.
(2) Explain whether the claim is valid for the wave on the ribbon, again referring to the orientation of the disturbance relative to the propagation direction.
(3) Suppose the metal slits are slowly rotated from 0∘ to 90∘ relative to the initial vertical orientation while the ribbon wave passes through them. Sketch or qualitatively describe how the detected intensity would vary with angle, and justify the shape of your predicted curve.