Polaroid Vision in a Spider Experiments show that the ground spider Drassodes cu

Question

Polaroid Vision in a Spider Experiments show that the ground spider Drassodes cupreus uses one of its several pairs of eyes as a polarization detector. In fact, the two eyes in this pair have polarization directions that are at right angles to one another. Suppose linearly polarized light with an intensity of 800 W/m2 shines from the sky onto the spider, and that the intensity transmitted by one of the polarizing eyes is 222 W/m2 .

Part A

For this eye, what is the angle between the polarization direction of the eye and the polarization direction of the incident light?

Part B

What is the intensity transmitted by the other polarizing eye?

Explanation / Answer

A) I = I0 cos^2( theta)

222 = 800 cos^2 (theta)

cos(theta) = sqrt(222/800) = 0.2775

theta = 74 deg

B) angle between two eyes = 90 deg

so for other , theta = 90 - 74 = 16 deg

I = 800 (cos(16))^2 = 738.4 W/m^2

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