Final answer:
Polaroid sunglasses transmit polarized light, specifically transverse electromagnetic waves, cutting glare from reflected surfaces by filtering out certain planes of vibration and allowing only light that vibrates in a certain direction to pass through.
Step-by-step explanation:
Polaroid sunglasses are designed to transmit primarily transverse electromagnetic (EM) waves that are polarized in a specific direction. Polarization is a characteristic of light that allows a Polaroid to filter out specific planes of vibration, reducing glare and reflections from surfaces like water or glass. Polarizing materials have molecules aligned in such a way that only light waves vibrating along a certain axis can pass through, with the axis being perpendicular to the aligned molecules. The polarized lenses thus block the horizontally polarized light, which is responsible for much of the glare we experience from surfaces like roads and bodies of water. Moreover, Polaroid sunglasses can enhance contrast and visual clarity by reducing the scattered blue light, especially in bright conditions.
When looking at a blue sky through Polaroid sunglasses and rotating them, the sky's brightness changes, demonstrating the partial polarization of scattered light. This polarization occurs because light, a transverse EM wave, causes the electrons of air molecules to oscillate, acting like antennas that emit polarized light. However, the scattered light's polarization is only partial, and the varying degrees of polarization observed result from the direction of observation relative to the original light ray and the effects of multiple scatterings of light by air.