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when a beam of unpolarized light is sent through two polarizing sheets, the transmitted intensity is 43.0 percent of the initial intensity. what is the angle between the polarizing directions of the two sheets?

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Final answer:

To find the angle between the polarizing directions of two sheets, use the equation: Transmitted intensity = (cos^2 α) / (cos^2 β), where α is the angle between the incident polarization and the transmission axis of the first sheet, and β is the angle between the transmission axis of the first sheet and the transmission axis of the second sheet. Solve for the angle β using the given values.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to find the angle between the polarizing directions of the two sheets, we can use the formula:

Transmitted intensity = (cos^2 α)/(cos^2 β)

where α is the angle between the incident polarization and the transmission axis of the first sheet, and β is the angle between the transmission axis of the first sheet and the transmission axis of the second sheet.

Given that the transmitted intensity is 43.0% of the initial intensity, we can solve for β:

43.0% = (cos^2 α)/(cos^2 β)

Simplifying the equation, we can take the square root of both sides:

0.43 = cos α / cos β

Now we can calculate the angle β:

β = cos^-1 (cos α / 0.43)

Substituting the values of α and β into the equation, we can solve for the angle between the polarizing directions of the two sheets.

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