As shown in the figure, a ray AB of unpolarized light enters from water of refractive index n_w = 4/3 into a medium of refractive index n_p = 4/ 3 after passing through a glass plate of refractive index n_g = 1.5 and a layer of water. At a particular incident angle i the reflected ray CD is polarized in the direction as shown in the figure. The value of i (in degrees) is:

Step-by-step solution

Let the angle of incidence at the first interface (water to glass) be i . By applying Snell's law at the successive parallel interfaces, we can find the angle of incidence at the interface where the reflection occurs (water to medium n_p ). For the first interface (water to glass): n_w i = n_g r₁ For the second interface (glass to water): n_g r₁ = n_w r₂ From the above two equations, we get: n_w i = n_w r₂ r₂ = i Thus, the angle of incidence at the third interface (water to medium n_p ) is also i . The problem stat