Can glare be vertically polarized in a natural environment?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter indieindie85
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Light Orientation
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of glare and its polarization in natural environments, particularly whether glare can be vertically polarized when reflecting off various surfaces, such as glass buildings.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions if glare can be vertically polarized, suggesting that glare typically reflects horizontally due to the sun's position.
  • Another participant asserts that glare can occur at any angle, depending on the reflective surface.
  • A third participant explains that on shiny nonconducting surfaces, light is partially polarized by reflection near Brewster's angle, and mentions that blue sky light is polarized at 90 degrees from the Sun, which contributes to horizontal polarization along the horizon.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the polarization of glare, with some suggesting it can be vertical under certain conditions, while others emphasize the predominance of horizontal polarization due to the sun's position and reflective surfaces.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes assumptions about the conditions under which glare is polarized and does not resolve the implications of Brewster's angle or the specific circumstances that would lead to vertical glare.

indieindie85
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hi, sorry if this is a bad question - I'm not very good at physics.

We polarize sunglasses vertically because of glare reflecting off of a horizontal surface orients the waves in a horizontal pattern. Is it possible to experience vertical glare in a natural environment? Like off of a glass building or something. Or is glare always horizontal because of the position of the sun? Thanks!
 
Science news on Phys.org
Glare can be at any angle, it just depends on the surface it reflects from.
 
On shiny nonconducting surfaces, incident light is partially polarized by reflection near Brewster's angle. This reflection can be off of glass, painted surfaces, and even water. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewster's_angle.

Also, blue sky light due to Rayleigh scattering is polarized at 90 degrees from the Sun. At noon when the sun is located at the zenith, the circle of polarized light wraps around the horizon. Therefore the sky is polarized horizontally along the horizon. Near sunrise ans sunset, this circle is defined by the effective North-Zenith-South plane.
 
Thanks guys. :)
 

Similar threads

Graduate Please Explain My Polarized Light Experiments
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
Undergrad Polarized light from any suface?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Correct use of words to describe a polarized lens. Grammar
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
Undergrad What happens when circular polarization meets a diagonal polarizer?
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
4K
Undergrad A question about density matricies
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
1K
Graduate Communication faster than light or where is my mistake?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
Undergrad Why do orthogonal polarizers at slits eliminate interference pattern?
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
3K
Graduate Calculate the desired incident polarization of a light beam
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
How does polarization show the wave nature of light?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Undergrad About polarization and polarizer
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K