Sunglasses Lens

by : Abang Chik
date: 17 April 2010


The color of the sunglasses lens can vary depending on style, fashion, and purpose, but for general use, red, grey, yellow, or brown are recommended to avoid or minimize color distortion, which could affect safety when, for instance, driving a car or a school bus.

• Gray and green lenses are considered neutral because they maintain true colors.
• Brown lenses cause some color distortion, but also increase contrast.
• Turquoise lenses are good for medium and high light conditions, because they are good at enhancing contrast, but do not cause significant color distortion.
• Orange and yellow lenses increase both contrast and depth perception. They also increase color distortion. Yellow lenses are used by pilots, boaters, fishers, shooters, and hunters for their contrast enhancement and width perception properties.
• Blue or purple lenses are mainly cosmetic.

among lens colour used in sunglasses

With the introduction of office computing, ergonomists may recommend mildly tinted glasses for use by display operators, in order to increase contrast.

Clear lenses are typically used to protect the eyes from impact, debris, dust, or chemicals. Some sunglasses with interchangeable lens have wet lenses to protect the eyes during low light or early morning activities.

While some blue blocking sunglasses are produced as regular sunglasses for exposure to bright sunlight, others—especially for macular degeneration patients—do not block light or other colors in order to function well in regular daylight and even dim sunlight. The latter allow the passage of enough light so normal evening activities can continue, while blocking the light that prevents production of the hormone melatonin. Low-tinted blue glasses are sometimes recommended to treat insomnia; they are worn in artificial lighting after dark, to reestablish the circadian rhythm.

Some models have polarized lenses, made of Polaroid polarized plastic sheeting, to reduce glare caused by light reflected from polarizing surfaces such as water as well as by polarized diffuse sky radiation (skylight). This can be especially useful when fishing, for which the ability to see beneath the surface of the water is crucial.

A mirrored coating can also be applied to the lens. This mirrored coating deflects some of the light when it hits the lens so that it is not transmitted through the lens, making it useful in bright conditions; however, it does not necessarily reflect UV radiation as well. Mirrored coatings can be made any color by the manufacturer for styling and fashion purposes. The color of the mirrored surface is irrelevant to the color of the lens. For example, a gray lens can have a blue mirror coating, and a brown lens can have a silver coating. Sunglasses of this type are sometimes called mirrorshades. A mirror coating does not get hot in sunlight and it prevents scattering of rays in the lens bulk.

Sunglasses lenses are made of either glass or plastic. Plastic lenses are typically made from acrylic, polycarbonate, CR-39 or polyurethane. Glass lenses have the best optical clarity and scratch resistance, but are heavier than plastic lenses. They can also shatter or break on impact. Plastic lenses are lighter and shatter-resistant, but are more prone to scratching. Polycarbonate plastic lenses are the lightest, and are also almost shatterproof, making them good for impact protection. CR-39 is the most common plastic lens, due to low weight, high scratch resistance, and low transparency for ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Any of the above features, color, polarization, gradation, mirroring, and materials, can be combined into the lens for a pair of sunglasses. Gradient glasses are darker at the top of the lens where the sky is viewed and transparent at the bottom. Corrective lenses or glasses can be manufactured with either tinting or darkened to serve as sunglasses. An alternative is to use the corrective glasses with a secondary lenses such as oversize sunglasses that fit over the regular glasses, clip-on lens that are placed in front of the glasses, and flip-up glasses which feature a dark lens that can be flipped up when not in use . Photochromatic lenses gradually darken in bright light.