How Do 3D Glasses Work?

3D technology sure makes you feel like we're living in the future, doesn't it? With people wearing funny looking glasses and pictures jumping from screens, I for one wouldn't be surprised to see some little green men asking where they can find our leader. Of course, people are so focused on what movies to see in 3D and how they look in their 3D glasses, that they often neglect to even find out how 3D technology works! You, however, are a different sort; you have come to this article in hopes of learning exactly how these 3D glasses work. Thankfully, you have not searched in vain as this article will go over and explain both passive and active 3D glasses. Read on, and reap the benefits of knowledge!
Although you may not know how passive 3D glasses work, you have almost certainly use them before. This is the type of technology that movie theaters typically employ. This is because the nature of cinemas allow for two projectors and thus two images to be projected, and because passive 3D glasses are significantly less expensive. So this is how it works: in each theater to projectors are trained on the screen. When the time comes, each is loaded up with a different version of the feature printed on polarized film. Moviegoers then wear polarized 3D glasses; this makes it so that each eye only use one set of images. It is as such that passive 3D glasses are able to simulate stereoscopic vision.
What's stereoscopic vision, you ask? Well, it's funny you should ask that because chances are you are using it right now. Stereoscopic vision is what allows us to see things with depth. It is possible because we have our eyes in two different places and thus we see most things from two different perspectives. Our brains are so amazing that they are able to use their own version of triangulation and trigonometry to judge from these two perspectives of an object how far away it is. Thus, stereoscopic vision works by presenting each eye with a different 2-D image which tricks our brain into thinking it is seeing one 3D object.
Now that you know a little bit more about how 3D technology works in general, I'll tell you about the other version of 3D glasses: those with active shutter technology. These types of classes are primarily used with 3D HDTV's. Because one TV cannot present two images, for magic needs to happen at the glasses. Active shutter glasses utilize liquid crystals with polarization technology so that each lens may be darkened or made clear when electricity is applied. This allows the glasses to control which eye is able to see at any point in time. Then, the active shutter glasses are synchronized with the 3D HDTV so that the HDTV alternatively presents the two different perspectives whilst the lenses open and close in time with this.
Whether it be with passive technology and polarized glasses or active shutter technology with LCD glasses, 3D movie or TV viewing is pretty wild. It's amazing that we have developed a means to simulate stereoscopic vision. Who knows what they'll think of next!

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