Re: POLARIZATION

[Vern Lindberg <vwlsps@ritvax.isc.rit.edu>]

> At 18:36 10/06/98 -0500, Brian Whatcott wrote:

> > To justify this bald assertion, I repeat that it is a fundamental
> > requirement of any helically polarized electromagnetic radiation  (which is
> > often called circularly polarized) that it must be analyzable into two
> > orthogonally polarized components which differ in phase by a quarter wave
> > at the frequency of interest.


Conversely any linear polarization state can be treated as the
superposition of right and left circularly polarized components with the
correct phase difference.

So what is true at the photon level?  According to Hecht's Optics, "... the
intrinsic or spin angular momentum of a photon is either - h-bar or +
h-bar, where the signs indicate right- or left-handedness, respectively."
(p. 276 Second Edition.

I've heard that the definition of right and left varies between physics and
electrical engineering, with the former judging it as it as the light
approaches and the latter as the light leaves.  Any truth to this?

Dr. Vern Lindberg			716-475-2546
Department of Physics			Fax 475-5766
85 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY 14623