Polarized Sunglasses

Polarized sunglasses are specialized eyewear designed to reduce glare from surfaces such as water, snow, and glass. Glare distorts the true color of objects and makes them harder to distinguish. Polarized sunglasses can be useful for certain sports and driving, helping participants to see more clearly and avoid potential hazards.

How Polarized Lenses Work

Polarized lenses are available in a variety of colors, depending on the material from which the lenses are made.

Darker colors provide higher levels of polarization.

Sunlight can be absorbed or reflected in several different directions. Sunlight that is bouncing off horizontal surfaces such as water, land, or the hood of a car is usually reflected back in a similar horizontal direction. This reflection produces an agitating source of glare that cannot only create visual discomfort but can also cause a potentially blinding glare. Glare has the potential to create a very dangerous situation, especially while driving. Polarized lenses contain a laminated filter that allows only vertically oriented light to pass through. This blocks the horizontally oriented light so glare is almost eliminated.

The most common colors of polarized lenses are gray and brown. However, depending on the manufacturer, many other colors may be available.

Sunlight can be absorbed or reflected in several different directions. Sunlight that is bouncing off horizontal surfaces such as water, land or the hood of a car is usually reflected back in a similar horizontal direction.

This reflection produces an agitating source of glare that cannot only create visual discomfort but can also cause a potentially blinding glare. Glare has the potential to create a very dangerous situation, especially while driving. Polarized lenses contain a laminated filter that allows only vertically oriented light to pass through.

This blocks the horizontally oriented light so glare is almost eliminated.

The most common colors of polarized lenses are gray and brown. However, depending on the manufacturer, many other colors may be available. Green, yellow, or melanin color are also very popular colors.

Advantages of Polarized Lenses

A high-quality pair of sunglasses will usually include polarized lenses. A polarized lens offers the following advantages over non-polarized lenses:

• Improves visual comfort

• Improves contrast and visual clarity
• Reduces eyestrain
• Allows for true perception of colors
• Reduces reflections and eliminates glare

So, should you wear polarized sunglasses or just a tint? Polarization is definitely the best choice when buyers are concerned about debilitating sunlight and glare. However, there is a subset of the population that just can not wear a polarized lens. Whether it is psychological or neurological, they just simply can not tolerate wearing them. It makes them disoriented, dizzy, and some people say they feel like everything appears to look like more "3-dimensional." For these people, a tint with glare-free technology applied to the back side of the lens may be a better option.

Finally, there are some occupations that may require a worker to be able to read certain digital numbers on a liquid crystal display on equipment.

Polarized lens sometimes will interfere with the visibility of the numbers on these devices.