Question #f674b

1 Answer
Jan 20, 2015

Polarization of a transverse wave only lets through waves that are facing a certain direction. Imagine a garden fence with vertical slats, and a wave trying to pass through. If the wave is vertically polarized, it can do this easily. But if the wave is horizontal, the slats block the wave from getting through. When unpolarized light is passed through a filter, it is forced to travel in a certain plane of polarization.

Radio waves are located at the left most end of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. They have the longest wavelength and the lowest frequency.

Light waves are located in the middle of the EM spectrum. Visible light is split into seven colors when passed through a prism. Each colour has a different wavelength, and so is refracted by different amounts.

An example of a transverse wave is a light wave, and an example of a longitudinal wave is a sound wave.