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Is there a difference in using 2, 3 or more polarizer? Is there anything that 3 polarizer can do but not 2 polarizer cannot?

Andrew Chua
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    What do you mean by "do"? Is it in terms of the states of light (and/or transformations on light) that can be effected? Or in terms of the experiments that can be performed? (Hint: the answer changes depending on which of those you choose.) – Emilio Pisanty Nov 07 '18 at 16:49
  • The effect of using 2 and 3 polarizer on an object shows different effect. So, why does it happen? – Andrew Chua Nov 13 '18 at 09:18
  • That's an entirely different question; if that's what you're really asking, then you should edit your post so that it reflects a clear question instead of adding it in the comments. (Though that said, if that is your question, you should do a thorough search of the existing corpus, starting with this thread and the ones on its Linked sidebar to the right, to make sure that what you're asking hasn't been posted before, so that your question doesn't get immediately re-closed as a duplicate.) – Emilio Pisanty Nov 13 '18 at 11:02

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There is a famous undergraduate experiment that involves 2 and 3 polarizers and yields different results based on this. It consists of a light source, 2 polarizers at specific angles and a detector.

If both polarizers are parallel, light passes through and can be detected. If they are perpendicular to each other, all of the light is blocked and nothing is detected.

Finally, if a third polarizing filter is included between the perpendicular filters and placed at a 45° angle, some light can again pass through.

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DK2AX
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