Polarized Sunglass Lenses

Polarized lenses help enhance vision by reducing light and glare from reflective surfaces like water and glass. Boaters, fishers, and drivers find them useful because they enable the wearer to see through water, including lakes, rivers, rain, and puddles on the road. They can also reduce glare from the surface of a road, building windows, snow, and other surfaces. For these reasons, they are sought for multiple types of sunglass use.

How Polarized Sunglasses Work

When sunlight shines down on a reflective surface, such as water, it sends a glare upwards in the opposite direction like a mirror reflecting light. The reflected light then aligns with the projected light which produced a horizontal glare. Polarized sunglass lenses have a special vertical filter that blocks the glare, similar to the way venetian blinds block sunlight from coming through the window, but still allow you to see through the window when the blinds are at an angle.  The filters in polarized lenses only allow in vertical light, so the horizontal glare is eliminated. However, when moving your head from side to side while wearing polarized lenses, the glare will reappear since the light is horizontally fixed. Polarized lenses filter the glare the best when the sun is at an angle from the reflecting surface, not when it is very close to the horizon or very high in the sky.

History

The first material made for polarizing light was invented by Edwin Herbert Land in 1929. After his freshman year at Harvard University, Land discovered that by creating a thin film layered with microscopic crystals, the film could filter out polarized light. Though this discovery was a scientific breakthrough, it wasn’t until the film was applied to sunglasses that it   became popular with the general public. He called this conception Polaroid, and years later started the Polaroid company.

Where to find Polarized Lenses

Almost all designer sunglass brands offer polarized lenses with their sunglass frames, including Ray-Ban, Prada, Oakley, and D&G. Sports-targeted brands, like Costa Del Mar and Adidas  specialize in polarized lenses, as well as other vision enhancement coatings, because they ensure that the wearer will have optimal vision during athletics.