Home >> Science & Nature >> Science

What Is the Meaning of Polaroid?

Polaroid can have several different meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. Strictly speaking, Polaroid is a trademark for a type of synthetic plastic sheet, which can be used to polarize light waves, or cause them to vibrate in a particular direction or path. Polaroid was developed by Polaroid Corp., and the term "Polaroid" can also be used colloquially to refer to Polaroid instant cameras, instant film photographs and sunglasses.

Plastic
- Polaroid, the plastic, consists of long, thin chains of polymeric molecules -- molecules formed by the addition of many smaller molecules -- which contain atoms of the halogen element iodine. In thin sheets, Polaroid transmits plane-polarized light, but only if the molecules are parallel to the plane of polarization. Reflected light is partly polarized, so Polaroid is widely used in optical devices, including sunglasses, to reduce or eliminate glare.
Land Camera
- The Polaroid instant camera -- officially the Polaroid Land Camera after its inventor, Edwin H. Land -- was marketed by Polaroid Corp. from 1948 onward. The Polaroid instant camera used paper that contained developer and fixer. Development took place inside the housing of the camera itself, and the entire process took just a few seconds to complete. In 2008, with sales declining in the face of increased competition from digital photography, Polaroid announced the end of its instant film.
Filter
- In 1935, Edwin H. Land also invented the Polaroid filter, which was subsequently used to improve the reflective properties of automobile windshields and sunglasses. Land recognized that his invention could improve 3-D movies and made his own short 3-D film, which he took on the road to demonstrate the improvement. More than seven decades later, the Polaroid filter is still in use.
Company
- Polaroid Corp. has, by necessity, reinvented itself over and over again to find and exploit market opportunities. In 2007, Polaroid sold its eyewear division, Polaroid Eyewear International, to the leading U.S. company, Stylemark, but, at the time of publication, continues to diversify its range of consumer electronic products, which include digital cameras and camcorders, digital photo frames, portable DVD and media players, and LCD TVs. In 2007, Polaroid joined Walmart's radio frequency identification (RFID) program, aimed at improving the way companies do inventory and planning, and developed a global positioning system (GPS) specifically for the Mexican market, with preloaded maps and a choice of audible and visual navigation in English or Spanish.

Science