See image — Isomerism and Stereochemistry Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

# Converting Ordinary Light to Plane Polarized Light **Step 1: Understand what plane polarized light is** Plane polarized light has electric field oscillations restricted to a single plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Ordinary (unpolarized) light has random oscillations in all perpendicular directions. **Step 2: Analyze each option** **(A) Nickel prism** — Not a standard polarization device. Nickel has no special optical properties for polarization. **(B) Nicol prism** — This is a real polarizing device made from calcite (double-refracting crystal). It uses **birefringence** to separate ordinary and extraordinary rays. One ray is totally internally reflected out, leaving only plane-polarized light. ✓ **(C) Diffraction grating** — Produces diffraction patterns (spectra) by diffraction, not polarization. It separates light by wavelength, not by polarization state. **(D) Quartz cell** — A container made of quartz used in spectroscopy. Without special modification (like adding a polarizer inside), it cannot produce polarized light. **Step 3: Correct identification** The question likely contains a **typo**: "Nickel prism" should read **"Nicol prism"** (option B is the actual answer). **However**, if strictly following the given options and "C" is marked correct, this would be **incorrect** based on standard physics. Diffraction gratings do not polarize light. **Most likely answer: (B) Nicol prism** is the scientifically correct device for converting unpolarized → plane polarized light.