This article was reviewed by member(s) of WikiProject Articles for creation. The project works to allow users to contribute quality articles and media files to the encyclopedia and track their progress as they are developed. To participate, please visit the project page for more information.Articles for creationWikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creationTemplate:WikiProject Articles for creationAfC articles
This article is part of the History of Science WikiProject, an attempt to improve and organize the history of science content on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion. You can also help with the History of Science Collaboration of the Month.History of ScienceWikipedia:WikiProject History of ScienceTemplate:WikiProject History of Sciencehistory of science articles
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Physics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Physics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PhysicsWikipedia:WikiProject PhysicsTemplate:WikiProject Physicsphysics articles
I composed this article offline, previewed it in my sandbox on 18 September 2017, and then moved it to Drafts — with the unintended consequence that all versions prior to 18 September 2017 are versions of my sandbox, not versions of this article!
Having added the new Fig. 1 (and a few portraits), distinguished Malus's definition from Fresnel's (and noted their equivalence in isotropic media), traced Aldis's statements to their primary source (Fresnel, 1827, tr. Hobson), quoted Fresnel's retrospective nod at the modern definition (Fresnel, 1822, tr. Young), traced the apparent coinage of the term plane of vibration (Stokes), revised the lead to cover essential points, added supporting citations from standard texts (Born & Wolf, Hecht, Stratton), separated the Notes and References, checked the consistency of formatting of the References and Bibliography, and checked the copyright clearance of all the illustrations, I hope it is sufficiently clear that this article has (at least) reached B Class. I am willing to write a more detailed submission to that effect if necessary.