Dan Neuman 🇨🇦 on Nostr: Surfaces will polarize* reflections, which is why polarized sunglasses are useful for ...

Surfaces will polarize* reflections, which is why polarized sunglasses are useful for cutting glare. If the light from the LED is polarized, eg the blue light has a different polarization than the yellow from the phosphor, then reflections will diminish one of the colours.

Reflections from anti-reflection coatings, eg your glasses or a TV, will be frequency-specific, because the coating thickness is on the order of the light wavelengths.

* photons have a wiggle in a certain direction, eg up-down or left-right, as they travel. If all the photons are wiggling the same way, it's called polarized light. Incandescent sources like flames and the sun emit photons that can be wiggling in any direction, ie unpolarized. When light hits a non-metallic surface, only the photons wiggling roughly parallel to the surface get reflected, causing the reflection to be polarized. Metal surfaces reflect the photons perfectly.