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Download CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day 2016
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CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE Western Illinois University Undergraduate Research Day 2016 PosterPresentation PolarizationPropertiesofLightScatteredfromJapaneseBeetles RaymondSullivanandBrandonMorse FacultyMentor:PengqianWang Physics It has been known that under sunlight the external shell of many beetles in the scarabaeidae family reflects only left-handed circularly polarized light. Light is a transverse electromagnetic wave. When viewedtowardthelightsource,theendoftheelectricfieldmaytracealine,acircle,oranellipse,which resultsinlinearly,circularlyandellipticallypolarizedlight.Circularlypolarizedlightisfurtherdividedinto left-handed and right-handed light, where the electric field rotates counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively.WestudiedthepolarizationpropertiesoflightscatteredfromJapanesebeetles,whichare amainpesttocropsintheUnitedStates.Weuseadaylightsimulatorasthelightsource.Thelightfirst passesthroughacircularpolarizer,whichconsistsofalinearpolarizerplateandaFresnelrhomb.The circular polarizer provides pure left-handed or right-handed polarized light, depending on the orientationofitslinearpolarizer.Thescatteredlightfromtheinsectisinspectedbyacircularanalyzer, which only transmits circularly polarized light of a certain handedness. We have found that the green metalliclightscatteredfromtheheadofthebeetleisentirelyleft-handedlypolarized,regardlessofthe polarization state of the incident light. The rim of the head of the beetle can transfer right-handed incident light into left-handed scattered light. This research is supported by the College of Arts and SciencesUndergraduateResearchandScholarlyActivityGrants.