Detection of circularly polarised light from noctilucent clouds

Details Detection of circularly polarised light from noctilucent clouds Detection of circularly polarised light from noctilucent clouds

Apr 1979

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1979natur.278..628g&link_type=abstract

Nature, vol. 278, Apr. 12, 1979, p. 628, 629.

Physics

Optics

9

Atmospheric Optics, Circular Polarization, Light Scattering, Noctilucent Clouds, Polarized Light, Cloud Physics, Crystal Growth, Stokes Theorem (Vector Calculus), Summer, Television Cameras

Scientific paper

A method for detecting the variation over the display area in the circular polarization of light from noctilucent clouds has been developed to allow the estimation of cloud particle size and shape. An assembly consisting of a fixed polarizer and a rotating retardation plate was placed in front of a sensitive television camera with a wide field of view. Images recorded on videotape are analyzed using the Stoke's vector to describe the state of polarization. Application of the technique to a noctilucent cloud display indicates that the amount of linear polarization increases with increasing scattering angle, while a noticeable amount of circular polarization was detected only in parts of the display. The circular polarization observed is not a tropospheric effect and is not considered to be caused by partly polarized light incident on spherical particles. It is estimated that the scattering particles causing the circular polarization are cylinders or needle shaped crystals with 0.01 micron radii, or a mixture of 10% cylinders of 0.04 micron radius with spherical particles.

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