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Science Fact of the Day September 6, 2009

Posted by spatialrift47 in SFoTD.
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That one really bright spot of reflected sun you see on the car windshield is where the sunlight is reflecting at a special angle called the Brewster angle. Like a punky little kid, that angle is polarizing – it forces all the light rays to oscillate in the same direction. This means they all add up together and the increased intensity has you reaching for your sunglasses.