Malus's law

proper noun

A rule stating that, when a perfect polarizer is placed in a polarized beam of light, the irradiance I of the light that passes through is given by I=I_0 cos ²θᵢ, where I₀ is the initial intensity and θᵢ is the angle between the light's initial polarization direction and the axis of the polarizer.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. A rule stating that, when a perfect polarizer is placed in a polarized beam of light, the irradiance I of the light that passes through is given by I=I_0 cos ²θᵢ, where I₀ is the initial intensity and θᵢ is the angle between the light's initial polarization direction and the axis of the polarizer.

Origin

Named after Étienne-Louis Malus.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Malus's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Malus's%20law

MLA

“Malus's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Malus's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Malus's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Malus's%20law.

Source: Malus's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.