Abstract
Bubbles are ubiquitous in the natural environment, where different substances and phases of the same substance forms globules due to differences in pressure and surface tension. Total internal reflection occurs at the interface of a bubble, where light travels from the higher refractive index material outside a bubble to the lower index material inside a bubble at appropriate angles of incidence, which can lead to a phase shift in the reflected light. Linearly polarized skylight can be converted to elliptically polarized light with efficiency up to 53% by single scattering from the water-air interface. Total internal reflection from air bubble in water is one of the few sources of elliptical polarization in the natural world. Stationary and dynamic scenes of air bubbles in water in both indoor and outdoor settings are studied using an imaging polarimeter. Our results are important for studies in fluid dynamics, remote sensing, and polarimetry.
Highlights
Bubbles are ubiquitous in the natural environment, where different substances and phases of the same substance forms globules due to differences in pressure and surface tension
Our study shows a distinct elliptically polarized signature from the bubble after a total internal reflection (TIR) event when illuminated with linearly polarized light[21]
As stated in the theory section and in experimentation, the maximum |degree of circular polarization (DoCP)| which can be measured from a single reflection is 53% for incident light that is purely linearly polarized
Summary
Three different light sources with different DoLP are used in this study. One source is the diode laser, which emits light of linear polarization. The DoLP of the sources ranges from unity (diode laser), to 0.70 (natural skylight), down to 0 (fluorescent light). The angle between the imaging polarimeter and the direction of the laser, along with the angle of incidence to the bubble, are varied from 45° to 65°. The fluorescent source was setup in the same position as the laser, so the illumination came from the same direction. Polarized light scattering of air bubbles in water was studied outdoors using natural skylight. The imaging polarimeter was positioned to be below the tank, looking up, but maintaining the 2θ angle between the bubble, incident, and reflected light. Each configuration was illuminated with both laser and fluorescent light
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