  The Rabi oscillations of a two-level atom illuminated by a laser on resonance
with the atomic transition may be suppressed by the atomic motion through
averaging or filtering mechanisms. The optical analogs of these velocity
effects are described. The two atomic levels correspond in the optical analogy
to orthogonal polarizations of light and the Rabi oscillations to polarization
oscillations in a medium which is optically active, naturally or due to a
magnetic field. In the later case, the two orthogonal polarizations could be
selected by choosing the orientation of the magnetic field, and one of them be
filtered out. It is argued that the time-dependent optical polarization
oscillations or their suppression are observable with current technology.
