Video Player

Polarization: Light Waves, Rainbows, and Cheap Sunglasses

Walter Lewin: January 26, 2003; Running Time: 01:28:27

About the Lecture

About the Lecture

In this lecture taped before a live audience of elementary and middle school students and their families, MIT Physics Professor Walter Lewin explains polarization, and demonstrates properties of light in rainbows, smoke and the sky. He answers the perennial question, "why is the sky blue?" and creates a red sunset in the laboratory.

Lecture Details

Location: Room 26-100

About the Speaker

Walter Lewin

Professor of Physics

Walter H. G. Lewin is well-known at MIT for his lectures on both Newtonian mechanics and electricity and magnetism. Videos of his lectures can be viewed on the web via the Open CourseWare and Pivot links below.

Lewin received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics in 1965 at the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands, and has been a member of the MIT Physics faculty since 1966. During his MIT career, Lewin's investigations in astrophysics have included satellite and high-altitude balloon X-ray observations, world-wide coordinated observations of optical and X-ray bursts, and international collaborations observing X-ray sources. In addition, Lewin has collaborated over the years with various artists on sky art events. From 1998 to 2000, Lewin worked with MIT's Center for Advanced Educational Services on creating the Physics Interactive Video Tutor project -- video help sessions for freshman physics students.

Walter Lewin

Walter Lewin's home page

Walter Lewin's Course 8.02
on OCW

Lewin 8.03 at OCW

About the Host

About the Host

MIT Museum

Cutting-edge technologies, amazing holograms, and the beauty of Harold Edgerton's strobe photography entertain, educate, and enlighten at the MIT Museum. Robotics, underwater exploration, kinetic sculptures, and the variety of interactive programs and historic collections attract visitors and researchers from around the world. This unique museum recently opened the Mark Epstein Innovation Gallery featuring some of the latest work of selected research groups at MIT.