Reflection and Transmission of EM waves -- Fresnel's laws : EM - 303

EM-303 Reflection and Transmission of EM waves: Oblique incidence. What if light or em waves are incident on a plane surface at an angle with respect to the normal. Some light will be reflected and some will be transmitted. In fact, the reflection (R) and transmission (T) coefficients are different for em waves of different polarisation. If the incident lwave is polarised within the incident plane, referred to as the parallel component, then R and T take some values. For perpendicular components, R and T take different values. There are some interesting observations. At a certain angle of incidence, the reflected light is completely polarised.. In fact, at all angles, reflected light is partially polarised because the parallel and perpendicular components are never reflected equally. At a certain angle of incidence, later called the Brewster's angle, the reflected light is totally polarised. Let us derive the Fresnel's equations to determine the reflection and transmission for a general case. I shall do it for the parallel component here. I also urge you to do it for the perpendicular component. It is a lot of fun, and it will increase your confidence. Enjoy.