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One dimensional light localization with classical scatterers; an advanced undergraduate laboratory experiment

The phenomenon of electronic wave localization through disorder was introduced by Anderson in 1958 in the context of electron transport in solids. It remains an important area of fundamental and applied research. Localization of all wave phenomena, including light, is thought to exist in a restricted one dimensional geometry. We present here a series of experiments which illustrate, using a simple experimental arrangement and approach, localization of light in a quasi one dimensional physical system. In the experiments, reflected and transmitted light from a stack of glass slides of varying thickness reveals an Ohm's Law type behavior for small thicknesses, and evolution to exponential decay of the transmitted power for thicker slide stacks. Light absorption is negligible in our realization of the experiment. For larger stacks of slides, weak departure from a one dimensional behavior is also observed. The experiment and analysis of the results, then showing many of the essential features of wave localization, is relatively straightforward, economical, and suitable for laboratory experiments at an undergraduate level.