Polarized sunglass lenses
Here’s a nerdy video describing how Polarized Lenses work 🙂
You can fast forward to 5:12 for an actual example!
The Problem of Glare
- Regular sunglasses are GREAT for reducing the overall brightness of a sunny day, but they don’t cut out the glare.
- Glare are areas of intense brightness that remain despite wearing sunglasses (which is why sometimes we still squint while wearing sunglasses)
- The source of glare is reflection off horizontal surfaces (ie. reflection off water, snow, roads, and cars)
- Wearing regular sunglasses are a must to block out UV light and cut overall brightness, but if we don’t cut the glare as well, vision will not be comfortable.
So how do we cut the glare?
- Luckily for us, a very interesting (and nerdy) thing happens when light bounces off a horizontal surface: it becomes horizontally polarized.
- We won’t get into what that means (unless you like physics, in which call us and ask for David!) but suffice it to say that this horizontal polarization is something that we can filter out using a “polarizing filter”.
- By applying this filter into your sunglasses, the areas of intense glare are drastically reduced and vision is returned to a comfortable state.
The sun is still too bright!
- Um, please don’t stare at the sun 😉
- The sun’s intensity cannot be diminished with a polarizing filter because the light rays are coming to you direct and have not yet bounced off a horizontal surface (ie. the light rays haven’t become horizontally polarized yet), so yes: the sun will ALWAYS be uncomfortably bright, regardless of what sunglasses you have.
Who are polarized lenses ideal for?
Everyone. But particularly important when:
- Driving on a shiny and/or wet road
- Driving in general
- Spending time around water (ie. fishing, boating, on a beach, etc.)
- Spending time around snow (ie. winter, with or without snow sports)
The result? Richer colours and contrasts, less squinting, less eye strain, and safer driving for an all-round more enjoyable visual experience.