Mirrored sunglasses are sunglasses with a reflective optical coating (called a mirror coating or flash coating) on the outside of the lenses to make them appear like small mirrors. The lenses typically give the wearer's vision a brown or grey tint. The mirror coating decreases the amount of light passing through the tinted lens by a further 10–60%, making it especially useful for conditions of sand, water, snow, and higher altitudes. Mirrored sunglasses are one-way mirrors.[citation needed]
The color of the mirror coating is independent of the tint of the lenses. It is determined by the thickness and structure of the layer.
Supreme Court Police officer wearing wraparound mirrored sunglasses in Washington, DCTheir popularity with police officers in the United States has earned them the nickname "cop shades". The two most popular styles for these are dual lenses set in metal frames (which are often confused with aviators), and wraparound (a single, smooth, semi-circular lens that covers both eyes and much of the same area of the face covered by protective goggles, combined with a minimal plastic frame and single piece of plastic serving as a nose pad). Wraparound sunglasses are also quite popular in the world of extreme sports.
Usage in sports
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Track cyclist Yuta Wakimoto wearing a helmet with a mirrored visorMany sports take advantage of the reflective material in mirrored sunglasses. Especially in outdoor sports play, mirrored sunglasses are greatly beneficial to the wearer.
Sports that can use mirrored sunglasses include:
In outdoor sports, the glare of the sun can be very intense due to the reflection of the sun from water and snow.
Reflective coating
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The simplest version of a mirror coating is a single layer of a deposited thin film of a suitable metal, usually prepared by ion beam deposition, sputter deposition or vapor deposition. However, this kind of coating is very prone to scratching, and degrades, especially in a corrosive environment like salt water.
The reflective coating on mirrored glasses can be very fragile and prone to scratching. Some high-end sun glass brands can come with anti-scratch coating. There can be steps implemented to protect the sunglasses and prevent scratching or damage.
More modern reflective coatings usually have several alternating layers of specific thickness, made of dielectric materials and sometimes metals. The metal layer can be made from titanium, nickel or chromium, or from an alloy like nichrome or Inconel, and has thickness ranging from 0.5 to 9 nanometers. The dielectric layer comprises a suitable oxide, e.g. chromium oxide, silicon dioxide, or titanium dioxide; its thickness determines the reflective properties of the resulting dielectric mirror. The manufacturing process is similar to making anti-reflective coating, and mirror and anti-reflective coatings can be deposited in the same sequence of operations.
History
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The main purpose of sunglasses has been, and still is, protection from the Sun's damaging UV rays. Throughout history, progression of the sunglasses began to change to serve more as a fashion stable, than eye wear for sun protection. The term "Sunglasses" began being used around the 1900s. Before then, sunglasses were being used for more extreme weather conditions, like for polar explorers or for people visiting equatorial colonies.[1]
The creation of the reflective material, Polaroid, was constructed by Edwin H. Land.[2] These reflective sunglasses worked by bouncing the light off using the reflective material. This would keep away the suns rays from the sunglasses and the wearers eyes. Most glasses also had some sort of dark tint, providing extra shade and protection from the sun.[3]
In WW2, Ray-Ban had used the anti-glare technology created by Edwin H. Land.[4] Ray-Bans were a much better substitute than goggles for the fighter pilots in WW2. The goggles did not serve the pilots much protection from the sun, thus weakening their performance. When in higher altitudes, the goggles would also be damaged by freezing over. The new design of the cockpit allowed the goggle design to be thrown out completely and allow Ray-Bans to be the main source of protection.[5]
Cyberpunk
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Cyberpunk can be classified as a sub-genre of science fiction, normally a futuristic society that deals heavily with technology.[6] Mirrored glasses had become a staple for the cyberpunk culture and style.[7] Popular movies like The Matrix and Terminator could be seen using cyberpunk themes. One of the main characters of the movie The Matrix sports the mirrored sunglasses throughout the movie.[8] One early cyberpunk short story anthology, edited by Bruce Sterling, is called Mirrorshades
See also
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References
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Winter’s cold, dark, rainy, and cloudy days are still prime time for a good pair of winter glasses. For one, the sun spends most of its time lower in the sky, which actually increases your chances of looking directly into its harmful UV rays. And if your winter includes any snow, you’re well aware of the intense glare that bounces off that brilliant white backdrop and sizzles your cornea on a sunny day. But even on those cloudy, gray days, a good pair of winter sunglasses will be useful, helping you see contrasts and shadows easier, especially when your surroundings are covered in snow.
Best Sunglasses Tints for Winter
Whether you’re a snowboarder who spends time in the terrain park, a runner logging winter miles to train for a spring event, or a daily commuter just driving to work and back, the right lens tint will help you see everything with more clarity.
In general, brown or green tints lead the way in a wide breadth of winter applications and scenarios, environments offering heightened contrasts and increased depth perception (a key feature in flat-light conditions on the snow). Mirrored lenses in gold, blue, or silver/gray work best for snowsports, especially on sunny days. Since they block 100% of reflected light, they’ll give you a brighter, clearer field of vision.
Polarized or Mirrored Lenses?
Both polarized lenses and mirrored lenses eliminate glare, making it easy to see in icy and snowy conditions. Polarized lenses have long been the go-to lens for people who spend a lot of time in the water and on the snow. That’s due to polarization technology’s ability to prevent horizontal light waves from getting to your eyes. Instead of a reflective glare from water or snow or ice, you can see what’s actually there. Mirrored lenses reflect 100% of any reflected light, and the mirrored coating makes these lenses one of the most durable and scratch-resistant lenses you can find. This is why they appear in an abundance of ski goggles.
Which one’s right for you? It depends on your use case: Polarized lenses are ideal in a variety of situations, whereas mirrored lenses work best for outdoor pursuits on bright, sunny days in the snow.
Choosing the Right Sunglass Frames for Winter
There’s only one right answer here: Go with high-quality molded polymer frames, not metal. Metal frames may look great, but they get cold to the touch in freezing conditions. Frames made from bio-based polymer, such as Rudy Project’s Rilsan® Clear, feature durable, featherweight construction in any shape frame without the structural and design limitations of metal.
Find the Best Combination of Protection and (Air)
Flow
Winter brings a unique set of protection challenges to your sunglass choice. To start, go with wrap-around lenses (think ski goggles and their curved lenses). These help mitigate any harsh reflections or low-angled sunlight from entering your field of vision from the sides. From there, the key is to maximize ventilation to keep your glasses from fogging up while still protecting your eyes from wind, rain, snow, or other irritants. The Rudy Project Agent Q frames and lenses do the trick thanks to their protection flexibility. Their wrap-around lens ensures a full field of vision protection, and a foam gasket sits on your face to form a protective barrier around your eyes. Adjustable nose bridges and snap-on side shields wrap your eyeballs in safety while still letting air flow through them.
And Now a Word About Photochromic Lenses for Winter
A strong case can be made for the convenience of photochromic lenses in winter, lenses that transition quickly from clear to tinted and back again. For morning or afternoon outdoor excursions that start or end in the dark, they do away with the need to carry multiple glasses or lenses. Not all that long ago, people were limited to gray lenses in this market. But Rudy Project’s ImpactX photochromic lenses come in red, brown, and purple tints that offer the deep contrast and clarity that traditional gray or black photochromic lenses never could.