![]() ![]() He returned to Harvard in the same year but left again before completing his undergraduate degree to focus on his emerging business. In 1929, Land applied for his first patent, a method for producing his polarizing sheets. As the lacquer dried, the crystals retained their orientation, and the result was a polarizing sheet that was thin, transparent, and pliable. He then pulled a sheet of celluloid (a thin, clear plastic) through this solution to make a continuous sheet of crystals. He created fine polarizing crystals, suspended them in liquid lacquer, and aligned them using an electromagnet. Land recognized an alternative, and he worked to arrange a mass of microscopic crystals to produce the same effect. Herapath had sought, with little success, to produce large synthetic crystals that would mimic the natural crystals that were the most useful polarizers available at the time. Land’s experiments built on those of the British chemist and surgeon William Herapath (1820–1868). There, he worked to develop a synthetic polarizer. He moved to New York City, where he studied physical optics independently at the New York Public Library and conducted experiments secretly at Columbia University. In 1926, Land enrolled at Harvard University to study physics, but his desire to conduct research caused him to leave after only a few months in search of more practical opportunities. Moreover, because glare would be eliminated, headlights could be made brighter, thereby increasing the safety of nighttime driving. Almost from the start of his work, around age 13, Land was searching for a product that would improve vehicle safety during nighttime driving: If polarizers could be placed in headlights and windshields, then they could be used to prevent the disturbing glare from oncoming vehicles’ headlights. Land imagined important uses for synthetic polarizers, if they could be produced. Natural polarizers were effective at reducing glare and measuring angles of reflectivity, but they were large and expensive. By doing so, polarizers provide the ability to select light waves with particular orientations. These invisible slats stop all angles of light except those parallel to the openings. A polarizer acts like a slatted screen, with long, thin, parallel openings. ![]() As the waves move forward, they vibrate vertically, horizontally, and at all angles in between. Polarization refers to a physical property of light waves. In particular, he was drawn to the natural phenomenon of light polarization. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |