How Do Polarized Sunglasses Work?

The useful glare-blocking properties of polarized sunglasses are well-known to just about anyone who goes outside. What isn't so well-known is how they reduce glare in the first place. That answer is deceptively complicated!

Hosted by: Hank Green

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[forestswayngim]

This video shows exactly what a good scientist is, anyone can go and throw out some research they did but only the good ones can go back when they have learned better and correct them self. So thank you to the scishow team.

[RH-xxyp]

This is exactly the right way to come back from making a mistake. I love that I can count on this channel to find and correct their mistakes openly.

[Master_Therion]

Whenever I say something stupid and my girlfriend glares at me, I tell her to put on polarized sunglasses.
It reduces the glare.

[TheTexas]

This is why I love sci show! Committed to getting the right explanation out there, even if you have to admit there were some mistakes! Keep making great videos!

[HermanVonPetri]

There may be one more thing to consider when doing a correction video. Best practice for correcting wrong information is to give the correct information without repeating the incorrect claims. People tend to weigh the wrong information equally to the correction when they are both stated at the same time and are less likely to remember which claim is more correct.

A better way to phrase the correction might be something like, "Unlike what we said in the previous video, when light waves bounce off of a horizontal surface they tend to reflect off of it mostly horizontally."

This has become an enormous problem in news communication also when trying to counter misleading assertions by certain politicians. News organizations feel that they have to repeat the incorrect claims by the politician before following with the facts (if they even bother with the facts.) What the public hears is "this news organization says that politician X says Y, there must be some truth to it."

[Jaybiiird]

THIS IS WHAT I LOVE ABOUT YOU GUYS WHEN YOU MESS UP YOU JUST ACKNOWLEDGE IT AND FIX IT THANKS. Keep up the great work guys!

[xeroterragoth]

And this is why I'm a scientist and not a religious person. You're allowed to make a mistake, all you have to do is admit where you were wrong and correct what you had previously said. The only time you're criticized for this is when you don't learn from your mistakes or when you refuse to correct them.

Good on you SciShow, your dedication to the facts is one of the reasons I continue to watch your channel. I even watch with my 3 yo daughter when she has a question you can answer with a video and she loves you guys too!

[lemonshrt]

thank you for addressing your mistakes. I really appreciate companies who can apologize and correct themselves! i will definitely keep supporting scishow.

[shandusa]

Thanks for your integrity in correcting an issue

[geoffreycannon]

The fact that you not only provide sources and fact check everything--plus the fact that you correct mistakes that are made.. THAT is why I am here, more than anything else. Thank you for what you do!!

[annoloki]

Better, nearly correct... amazingly (unlike every other "how?" video on here) you don't just explain WHAT they do, but you do dip a little into the HOW (seriously, check out any other "how?" video on polarised lenses and you'll find nobody understands the difference between the questions "how do they work?" and "what do they do?").

But, the filters don't simply block some light and let other light through, they actually alter the light also. This is because the crystals that absorb the filtered light don't simply get rid of it; the vibrating field caused by the absorption interacts with the light passing through, causing it to be altered. This is why they are polarisING filters, not simply polarisED filters.

[zhshsG]

Every scientific channel/documentary/show etc should be like you guys. We normally consider a scientific show good if it has conducted a thorough research, however few will admit their mistakes publicly and even go as far as to make an entire video showing them. I believe today you have shown just how faithful to science you are, and I hope every show out there learns from this and becomes maybe a bit more willing to admit their mistakes, at least if their topic concerns science. Bravo!

[natjimoEU]

Im so glad u're still here to keep me subscribed to this channel Hank, never stop please.

[alexanderwilson]

I love that you guys admit when you screwed something up and then address/correct that mistake.

[JeremyWS]

I love when you guys make a video admitting you were wrong on something. It takes a lot of guts to know when to admit to being wrong and I admire that in a learning based YouTube channel. So please keep on admitting your faults, you're only human. Someday the world will be a place where no one has problem a with being wrong on a topic.

[RobbieJacobs_Talks]

Massive respect for fully accepting the mistake and rectifying it. This behavior should always be encouraged

[hothothotmale]

I failed my Diploma of Polarization because of your initial video on this subject.

[LulitaInPita]

Here's a little drinking game for you:
Take a sip every time he says "horizontal", "vertical" and "polarized".
By the end of it you won't know what any of these words mean, you'd be walking on horizontal walls and sliding down vertical floors, all while taking selfies with a polaroid camera which you do not own and it's not even a camera, it's a book about bugs.

Thank me later!

[scarletletter]

How do you know SciShow's legit? They're willing to do a corrections episode.

[MinkytheMinkY]

what I Love about science as a discipline. integrity to the community. admitting when one is wrong, correcting the mistake, and moving on. imagine if the world were more like that, the things we'd accomplish, the relationships and lives saved, world peace....