Abstract
INFORMATION recently released about the 'Polaroid Vectograph', a system of stereoscopic photography developed by the Polaroid Corporation, reveals that the method is playing an important part in war-time aerial photography. A short account of the underlying principles was given by E. H. Land in 1940 (J. Opt. Soc. Amer., 30, 230; 1940). As in all stereoscopic systems, two photographs of a scene taken from different positions have to be presented to the observer so that the picture taken from the right is seen by the right eye, while that from the left is seen by the left eye. In the 'Vectograph', two very thin polarizing surfaces are located immediately above an aluminized surface and are oriented so that the vibration directions of the two layers are crossed relative to one another. The light and shade of the 'left' image is controlled by the number of sub-microscopic crystals in one of the layers, and that of the 'right' image by the crystal distribution in the other layer. The 'left' image is seen by the left eye through a 'Polaroid' filter placed in front of the eye to act as analyser, the vibration direction of the analyser being crossed with respect to that of the 'left' image. The white areas of the image are thus represented by regions where the polaroid crystals are absent, and the blacks by areas of maximum concentration; further, since the left-eye analyser is parallel relative to the vibration direction of the 'right' image, the presence or absence of crystals in the latter have no effect on the appearance of the 'left' image. A similar viewing arrangement is used to enable the right eye to see the 'right' image.
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Stereoscopic Photographs: 'Polaroid Vectographs'. Nature 153, 458–459 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/153458d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/153458d0