• Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
  • Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
  • Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
  • Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
  • Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
  • Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit - Stemcell Science Shop
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Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit

Three-Polarizer Paradox Experiment Kit

  • Hands-on Experiment

Item #296


The Three-Polarizer Paradox is a popular light experiment originally presented by theoretical physicist Paul Dirac in his 1930 book The Principles of Quantum Mechanics.

It is often used to illustrate the strange behavior of quantum mechanics, but it can be explained with classical mechanics as well.

The experiment, described on the reverse of this card, involves 3 identical, linear polarizing filters. Think of these filters as grates with tiny opaque bars crossing it in one direction, as in the image above. The light that passes through the grate is “linearly polarized”, meaning it is only oscillating in that linear plane.

Polarizing filters are great for photography since the effect cannot be created digitally.


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Further Reading:

  1. Dirac Paul Adrien Maurice 1926 On the theory of quantum mechanics Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A 112661–677 http://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1926.0133
  2. Dirac, P. A. M. (1981). The principles of quantum mechanics. Oxford: Clarendon Press https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Principles_of_Quantum_Mechanics/XehUpGiM6FIC?hl=en&gbpv=1
  3. The Three-Polarizer Paradox. (2023, January 11). College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University. https://chem.libretexts.org/@go/page/140336
  4. Zhang, Wen-Ran & Marchetti, Francesco. (2015). A Logical Exposition of Dirac 3-Polarizer Experiment and Its Potential Impact on Computational Biology. 10.13140/RG.2.1.2699.1848.
  5. Dirac Three Polarizers Experiment (Retrieved February 12, 2023) Information Philosopher https://www.informationphilosopher.com/solutions/experiments/dirac_3-polarizers/
  6. Third-Polarizing-Filter Experiment Demystified — How It Works (2004) Darel Rex Finley http://alienryderflex.com/polarizer/
  7. Rioux, Frank. Quantum Principles Illuminated with Polarized Light (Retrieved February 12, 2023) https://www.faculty.csbsju.edu/frioux/q-intro/polar-append.pdf
  8. Feynman, R. P.; Leighton, R. B.; Sands, M. The Feynman Lectures on Physics: Vol. III, Addison-Wesley: Reading, MA, 1965.
  9. Rioux, Frank. The Three-Polarizer Paradox (Retrieved February 12, 2023) https://www.faculty.csbsju.edu/frioux/polarize/ThreePolarizerParadox.pdf
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Anonymous (California, United States)

Neat!

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