USE OF POLARIZATION IN THE FOLLOWING:

MOVIE PRODUCTION TELEVISION SET SUN GLASSES ASTRONOMY USE OF POLARIZATION IN MOVIES PRODUCTION

Polarization is also used in the entertainment industry to produce and show 3-D movies. Three-dimensional movies are actually two movies being shown at the same time through two projectors. The two movies are filmed from two slightly different camera locations. Each individual movie is then projected from different sides of the audience onto a metal screen. The movies are projected through a polarizing filter. The polarizing filter used for the projector on the left may have its polarization a is aligned horizontally while the polarizing filter used for the projector on the right would have its polarization a is aligned vertically. !onse"uently# there are two slightly different movies being projected onto a screen. Each movie is cast by light that is polarized with an orientation perpendicular to the other movie. The audience then wears glasses that have two Polaroid filters. Each filter has a different polarization a is - one is horizontal and the other is vertical. The result of this arrangement of projectors and filters is that the left eye sees the movie that is projected from the right projector while the right eye sees the movie that is projected from the left projector. This gives the viewer a perception of depth. $ealD 3D cinema technology is a polarized 3D system that uses circularly polarized light to produce stereoscopic image projection. The advantage of circular polarization over linear polarization is that viewers

are able to tilt their head and loo% about the theater naturally without seeing double or dar%ened images. &'( )owever# as with other systems# any significant head tilt will result in incorrect paralla and prevent the brain from correctly fusing the stereoscopic images. The high-resolution# digital cinema grade video projector alternately projects right-eye frames and left-eye frames# switching between them *++ times per second.&'( The projector is either a Te as ,nstrumentsDigital .ight Processing device or /ony-s reflective .!0/ 1.i"uid crystal on silicon2. 3 push-pull electro-optical li"uid crystal modulator called a 4/creen is placed immediately in front of the projector lens to alternately polarize each frame. ,t circularly polarizes the frames cloc%wise for the right eye and counter-cloc%wise for the left eye. The audience wears circularly polarized glasses that have oppositely polarized lenses that ensures each eye sees only its designated frame. ,n $ealD !inema# each frame is projected three times to reduce flic%er# a system called triple flash. The source video is usually produced at '+ frames per second per eye 1total +5 frames6s2# which may result in subtle ghosting and stuttering on horizontal camera movements. 3 silver screen is used to maintain the light polarization upon reflection and to reduce reflection loss to counter some of the significant light loss due to polarization filter absorption. The result is a 3D picture that seems to e tend behind and in front of the screen itself.&3( They are not for use as sunglasses despite their dar% tint. 3s a matter of fact# the 3D technology is even worse than standard glasses# and posts warnings on pac%aging that they are not safe for use as sunglasses.

USE OF POLARIZATION IN TELEVISION SET The polarization of an antenna refers to the orientation of the electric field 1E-plane2 of the television set wave with respect to the Earth-s surface and is determined by the physical structure of the antenna and by its orientation7 note that this designation is totally distinct from the antenna-s directionality. Thus# a simple straight wire antenna will have one polarization when mounted vertically# and a different polarization when mounted horizontally. 3s a transverse wave# the magnetic field of a radio wave is at right angles to that of the electric field# but by convention# tal% of an antenna-s 8polarization8 is understood to refer to the direction of the electric field. $eflections generally affect polarization. 9or radio waves# one important reflector is the ionosphere which can change the wave-s polarization. Thus for signals received following reflection by the ionosphere 1a s%ywave2# a consistent polarization cannot be e pected. 9or line-of-sight communications or ground wave propagation# horizontally or vertically polarized transmissions generally remain in the about the same polarization state at the receiving location. :atching the receiving antenna-s polarization to that of the transmitter can ma%e a very substantial difference in received signal strength. Polarization is predictable from an antenna-s geometry# although in some cases it is not at all obvious 1such as for the "uad antenna2. 3n antenna-s linear polarization is generally along the direction 1as viewed from the receiving location2 of the antenna-s currents when such a direction can be defined. 9or instance# a vertical whip antenna or ;i9i antenna vertically oriented will transmit and receive in the vertical polarization. 3ntennas with horizontal elements# such as most rooftop

T< antennas# are horizontally polarized 1broadcast T< usually uses horizontal polarization2. Even when the antenna system has a vertical orientation# such as an array of horizontal dipole antennas# the polarization is in the horizontal direction corresponding to the current flow. The polarization of a commercial antenna is an essential specification. Polarization is the sum of the E-plane orientations over time projected onto an imaginary plane perpendicular to the direction of motion of the radio wave. ,n the most general case# polarization is elliptical# meaning that the polarization of the radio waves varies over time. Two special cases are linear polarization 1the ellipse collapses into a line2 as we have discussed above# and circular polarization 1in which the two a es of the ellipse are e"ual2. ,n linear polarization the electric field of the radio wave oscillates bac% and forth along one direction7 this can be affected by the mounting of the antenna but usually the desired direction is either horizontal or vertical polarization. ,n circular polarization# the electric field 1and magnetic field2 of the radio wave rotates at the radio fre"uency circularly around the a is of propagation. !ircular or elliptically polarized radio waves are designated as right-handed or left-handed using the 8thumb in the direction of the propagation8 rule. =ote that for circular polarization# optical researchers use the opposite right hand rule from the one used by radio engineers. ,t is best for the receiving antenna to match the polarization of the transmitted wave for optimum reception. ,ntermediate matchings will lose some signal strength# but not as much as a complete mismatch. 3 circularly polarized antenna can be used to e"ually well match vertical or horizontal linear polarizations. Transmission from a circularly polarized antenna received by a linearly polarized antenna 1or vice versa2 entails a
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3d> reduction in signal-to-noise ratio as the received power has thereby been cut in half. USE OF POLARIZATION IN SUNGLASSES Polarized sunglasses have been popular for years with boaters and fishermen who need to reduce reflected glare from the water surrounding them. >ut now that many others who spend time outdoors have discovered the benefits of polarized lenses# interest in these types of sunglasses has soared. >esides boaters# outdoor enthusiasts who benefit the most from polarized sunglasses include s%iers# bi%ers# golfers and joggers# all who may enjoy a clearer view along with elimination of glare. These sunglasses can be used for driving and# in fact# can reduce glare from a long# flat surface such as the hood of the car or the road-s surface. Polarized sunglasses also can be worn indoors by light-sensitive people# including post-cataract surgery patients and those continually e posed to bright light through windows. How Do Polarize Le!"e" Wor#$ .ight reflected from surfaces such as a flat road or smooth water generally is horizontally polarized. This means that# instead of light being scattered in all directions in more usual ways# reflected light generally travels in a more horizontally oriented direction. This creates an

annoying and sometimes dangerous intensity of light that we e perience as glare. Polarized sunglasses cut glare and haze so your eyes are more comfortable and you can see better. Polarized lenses contain a special filter that bloc%s this type of intense reflected light# reducing glare. Though polarized sunglasses improve comfort and visibility# you will encounter some instances when these lenses may not be advisable. 0ne e ample is downhill s%iing# where you don-t want to bloc% light reflecting off icy patches because this alerts s%iers to hazards they are approaching. ,n addition# polarized lenses may reduce the visibility of images produced by li"uid crystal displays 1.!Ds2 or light-emitting diode displays 1.EDs2 found on the dashboards of some cars or in other places such as the digital screens on automatic teller machines and selfservice gas pumps. ;ith polarized lenses# you also may be unable to see your cell phone or ?P/ device. >oaters and pilots also have reported similar problems when viewing .!D displays on instrument panels# which can be a crucial issue when it comes to ma%ing split-second decisions based strictly on information displayed on a panel. 1/ome manufacturers of these devices have changed their products to solve the problem# but many have not yet done so.2

)owever# for most other sports and activities# polarized sunglasses offer great advantages. 3nd today# many polarized lenses are available in combination with other features that can enhance outdoor e periences. Polarized bifocal sunglasses or progressive lenses are e amples of options for the presbyope who also li%es outdoor sports. 3nd polarized photochromic lenses# which change from dar% outside to light inside# may be right for the light-sensitive person who fre"uently is in and out of the sun on any given day. USE OF POLARIZATION IN ASTRONOMY .ight Polarization is an important phenomenon in astronomy. The polarization of starlight was first observed by the astronomers ;illiam )iltner and @ohn /. )all in *A+A. /ubse"uently# @esse ?reenstein and .everett Davis# @r. developed theories allowing the use of polarization data to trace interstellar magnetic fields. Though the integrated thermal radiation of stars is not usually appreciably polarized at source# scattering by interstellar dust can impose polarization on starlight over long distances. =et polarization at the source can occur if the photosphere itself is asymmetric# due to limb polarization. Plane polarization of starlight generated at the star itself is observed for 3p stars 1peculiar 3 type stars2. >oth circular and linear polarization of light from the /un has been measured. !ircular polarization is mainly due to transmission and absorption effects in strongly magnetic regions of the /un-s surface. 3nother mechanism that gives rise to circular polarization is the socalled alignment-to-orientation mechanism. !ontinuum light is linearly polarized at different locations across the face of the /un 1limb
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polarization2 though ta%en as a whole# this polarization cancels. .inear polarization in spectral lines is usually created by anisotropic scattering of photons on atoms and ions which can themselves be polarized by this interaction. The linearly polarized spectrum of the /un is often called the second solar spectrum. 3tomic polarization can be modified in wea% magnetic fields by the )anle effect. 3s a result# polarization of the scattered photons is also modified providing a diagnostics tool for understanding stellar magnetic fields. Polarization is also present in radiation from coherent astronomical sources 1e.g. hydro yl or methanol masers2# and incoherent sources such as the large radio lobes in active gala ies# and pulsar radio radiation 1which may# it is speculated# sometimes be coherent2. 3part from providing information on sources of radiation and scattering# polarization also probes the interstellar magnetic field in our ?ala y as well as in radio gala ies via 9araday rotation. ,n some cases it can be difficult to determine how much of the 9araday rotation is in the e ternal source and how much is local to our own ?ala y# but in many cases it is possible to find another distant source nearby in the s%y7 thus by comparing the candidate source and the reference source# the results can be untangled. The polarization of the cosmic microwave bac%ground is also being used to study the physics of the very early universe. ,t has been suggested that as-tronomical sources of polarised light caused the chirality found in biological molecules on Earth.