The Polarization of Light and Malus’ Law Using Smartphones

Originally an empirical law, nowadays Malus’ law is seen as a key experiment to demonstrate the transverse nature of electromagnetic waves, as well as the intrinsic connection between optics and electromagnetism. In this work, a simple and inexpensive setup is proposed to quantitatively verify the nature of polarized light. A flat computer screen serves as a source of linear polarized light and a smartphone (possessing ambient light and orientation sensors) is used, thanks to its built-in sensors, to experiment with polarized light and verify Malus’ law.