Question

Which pair of glasses shown above is best suited for automobile drivers? The transmission axes are shown by straight lines on the lenses. (Hint: The light reflects off the hood of the car.)

Answer 1

Sunglasses with vertical transmission axes are most suitable for drivers to reduce glare from horizontal surfaces. They work by blocking horizontally polarized light which is commonly reflected by the hood of a car. A simple test of rotating one pair in front of another can confirm if sunglasses are polarized.

Step-by-step explanation:

For automobile drivers, sunglasses with vertical transmission axes are best suited because they are designed to reduce the glare by blocking horizontally polarized light. This typically includes light reflected off flat surfaces like the hood of a car or the road. When unpolarized light reflects off such surfaces, it becomes polarized in the horizontal plane. Sunglasses with vertical transmission axes will block this polarized light more effectively. To ensure sunglasses are polarized, you can perform a simple test: Place one pair of sunglasses in front of another and rotate them. If the lenses are polarized, you will observe the light being blocked at two positions 90 degrees apart due to the polarization of light.