Comments on: Developing Useless Superpowers 101: How to Detect Polarized Light

By: Jared Coron

Jared Coron — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:22:06 +0000

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By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:43:12 +0000

@1. Rick Badman,

Um, your first method is exactly how high end 3D systems work. Go to a 3D IMAX presentation and you have to wear LCD glasses. The shutters alternate left-right and are synchronized to the screen. Your left eye only sees left-eye images, your right eye only right-eye images. During a screening there is always one lens clear and the other completely blocked.

The method is expensive. The glasses are more costly. The screen frame rates have to double because each eye now only gets one image for every 2 that show on the screen. If you didn’t double the screen frame rates then there would be significant perceived image flicker.

However the payoff is an excellent 3D effect, no headaches or dizziness.

By: Alex Besogonov

Alex Besogonov — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:10:19 +0000

Yes. I wear polarized corrective glasses, it’s so much interesting this way! So much things are optically-active – even a simple plastic bottle often becomes rainbow-colored. Also, tempered glass, reflections in the water, etc.

I had to wear simple non-polarized glasses recently and it was like I lost a sense!

By: Argo

Argo — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:22:43 +0000

I don’t think Rick Badman’s description of 3D without glasses is workable: requires that the image for each eye not be visible to the other eye. That’s not going to be possible in a typical cinema (or living room) environment.

If the Good Lord had wanted man to see in 3D at the cinema He would have given him separately-polarized eyes. (Or maybe He recognized His design flaw and anticipated that most humans would be wearing corrective eyewear that could be polarized when needed. In other words, my needing glasses for near-sightedness is a divine blessing!)

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:13:17 +0000

Actually I think the 3D movies use circular polarization which keeps the 3D effect even if you tilt your head.

Also 2 guys with x-ray vision, who do you think they’d really be looking at?

By: Rick Badman

Rick Badman — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:02:31 +0000

If movie companies didn’t want to get by on the cheap in presenting 3-D movies, they could use one of two methods to improve their movies. The first method would use electronic glasses that would show the right side of the picture on the right screen and left side on the left screen. The lenses could be liquid crystal screens and show movie goers exactly what the camera lenses captured. The movie could be projected on a screen in conventional 2-D for those who don’t want to spend an extra 5 to $10 to be able to see the movie in 3-D.

The second system would project the movies at upwards to ten times normal speed. The right side images would be projected first and then the left side and alternate every 1/60th to 1/120th of a second. This would be fast enough to allow people to view a 3-D movie without needing to wear the glasses.

Further in the future, extended 3-D will use color-coded images to determine depth of field, field plates to generate electromagnetic fields that will be warped by the color-coded projected images, and the images that will be projected into the warped fields. The system will require more energy. But the images will be in true 3-D.

Experiencable Program Units will allow movie goers to experience movies that are computerized. They will feel totally real. Freestyle programs will allow the audiences to interact with the movies which means a movie could be different every time you experience it with an audience or by yourself.