Question

Air molecules and dust particles in the atmosphere will scatter sunlight. From a consideration of the position of the sun, estimate the direction of incidence of the sun's rays on the atmosphere. In what direction will an observer on the earth's surface need to look if he is to observe scattered light which is plane polarised? Confirm your prediction using a sheet of Polaroid to analyse 'sky' light. A cloudy sky will not prevent observations. With reference to a diagram, describe where the sky showed the maximum polarisation by scattering and describe the position of the plane of polarisation.

Answer 1

This was one of my favorite physics labs...it got us outdoors in the spring.

https://www.polarization.com/sky/sky.html