Last modified on 9th August 2000.
Encyclopædia Galactica
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Polarization
The nonrandom distribution of electric field direction among the
photons in a beam of electromagnetic radiation.
In linear polarization the vectors representing electric field are parallel.
In circular polarization the direction of polarization changes
continuously in such a way that the electric field vector rotates
with the frequency of the radiation. Elliptical polarization is
similar to circular polarization except that the magnitude of the
electric field vector also changes continuously, but at twice the
frequency of the radiation. (Mitton, 1993, Dictionary of Astronomy,
London: Penguin Books)
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Created by
Rami T. F. Rekola