Polarizer
Applies a linear polarization axis and Malus-law attenuation.
Open in the canvas →In the real world
An ideal linear polarizer transmits only the field component parallel to its transmission axis. For fully polarized light arriving at angle θ to that axis, the classic form of Malus's law gives the transmitted intensity:
That scalar formula only covers fully linearly polarized light, though — it says nothing about partially polarized, unpolarized, or elliptically polarized input, which is most real light sources.
In OpticalSetup
Polarization state throughout OpticalSetup is tracked as a full normalized Stokes vector (s₁, s₂, s₃), not a single angle — so a polarizer's transmission is computed with the general form of Malus's law, which reduces to the scalar equation above for fully linear light but also gives the correct partial transmission for unpolarized, partially polarized, or circular input:
The polarizer is ideal — perfect extinction on the blocked axis, no wavelength dependence, no insertion loss on the transmission axis.