Title

Bifrequency Pendulum On A Rotary Platform To Teach Optical Birefringence And Liquid Crystalline Displays

Abstract

Bifrequency pendulum on a rotary platform was tested and used for several years as a tool to teach various optical phenomena, mostly connected with the polarization of light waves. The following optical topics have found their mechanical analogs: linearity and superposition; damping; isotropy versus anisotropy; birefringence, uniaxial crystals; adiabatic following versus abrupt changes; liquid crystalline displays for watches, based on a twisted nematic cell; quantum-mechanical level anti-crossing; center-symmetric (χ(3)) nonlinearity and self- rotation of polarization ellipse; angular momentum conservation; non- center-symmetric (χ(2)) nonlinearity and second harmonic generation. This pendulum continues to serve as a source of ideas for new optical devices.

Publication Date

1-1-1995

Publication Title

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

Volume

2525

Number of Pages

414-421

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.224054

Socpus ID

0029490333 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0029490333

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