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Polarized Light in Animal Vision

Polarization Patterns in Nature

  • Book
  • © 2004

Overview

Authors:
  1. Gábor Horváth

    1. Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary

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  2. Dezső Varjú

    1. Lehrstuhl Kognitive Neurowissenschaften, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Comprehensive treatment of this fascinating phenomenon, treating the physical, meterological and physiological aspects adequately
  • Illustrated with over hundred figures and additional 16 superb colour plates
  • Includes vivid case studies of various species, from insects, birds or fishes
  • The authors, both physicists, are well known experts, they received many awards and prizes for their biophysical work
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (34 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XXIII
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  2. Imaging Polarimetry

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Polarimetry: From Point-Source to Imaging Polarimeters

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 3-12

  3. Polarization Patterns in Nature

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13
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    2. Space-Borne Measurement of Earthlight Polarization

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 15-17

    3. Skylight Polarization

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 18-22

    4. Principal Neutral Points of Atmospheric Polarization

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 23-31

    5. 24-Hour Change of the Polarization Pattern of the Summer Sky North of the Arctic Circle

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 32-35

    6. Polarization Patterns of Cloudy Skies and Animal Orientation

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 36-40

    7. Ground-Based Full-Sky Imaging Polarimetric Cloud Detection

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 41-46

    8. Polarization Pattern of the Moonlit Clear Night Sky at Full Moon: Comparison of Moonlit and Sunlit Skies

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 47-50

    9. Imaging Polarimetry of the Rainbow

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 51-52

    10. Which Part of the Spectrum Is Optimal for Perception of Skylight Polarization?

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 53-73

    11. Polarization of the Sky and the Solar Corona During Total Solar Eclipses

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 74-87

    12. Reflection-Polarization Pattern of the Flat Water Surface Measured by 180° Field-of-View Imaging Polarimetry

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 88-91

    13. Polarization Pattern of a Fata Morgana: Why Aquatic Insects Are not Attracted by Mirages?

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 92-94

    14. Polarizational Characteristics of the Underwater World

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 95-99

    15. Circulary Polarized Light in Nature

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 100-103

  4. Polarized Light in Animal Vision

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105
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    2. From Polarization Sensitivity to Polarization Vision

      • Gábor Horváth, Dezső Varjú
      Pages 107-130
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Keywords

About this book

The subject of this volume is two-fold. First, it gathers typical polarization patterns occurring in nature. Second, it surveys the polarization-sensitive ani­ mals, the physiological mechanisms and biological functions of polarization sensitivity as weIl as the polarization-guided behaviour in animals. The monograph is prepared for biologists, physicists and meteorologists, espe­ cially for experts of atmospheric optics and animal vision, who wish to under­ stand and reveal the message hidden in polarization patterns of the optical environment not directly accessible to the human visual system, but measur­ able by polarimetry and perceived by many animals. Our volume is an attempt to build a bridge between these two physical and biological flelds. In Part I we introduce the reader to the elements of imaging polarimetry. This technique can be efflciently used, e. g. in atmospheric optics, remote sens­ ing and biology. In Part 11 we deal with typical polarization patterns of the natural optical environment. Sunrise/sunset, clear skies, cloudy skies, moonshine and total solar eclipses all mean quite different illumination conditions, wh ich also affect the spatial distribution and strength of celestial polarization. We pre­ sent the polarization patterns of the sky and its unpolarized (neutral) points under sunlit, moonlit, clear, cloudy and eclipsed conditions as a function of solar elevation. The polarization pattern of a rainbow is also shown. That part of the spectrum is derived in which perception of skylight polarization is optimal under partly cloudy skies.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Biological Physics, Eötvös University, Budapest, Hungary

    Gábor Horváth

  • Lehrstuhl Kognitive Neurowissenschaften, Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Dezső Varjú

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