What+are+sunglasses+and+do+they+really+protect+our+eyes?

WHAT ARE SUN GLASSES AND DO THEY REALLY PROTECT OUR EYES Sunglasses are tinted lenses, normally a dark color like black or gray, that filter light out that could harm your eyes. They in some ways protect our eyes, like if we are just in the sun, but in other cases they do not. Some of these cases are if you look directly at the sun, or if you just have a really cheap pair. Normally the more expensive pairs or brands are better because they use polarized lenses instead of just colored glasses. Style is one thing many people think is important, but they are wrong. The truth is, there is no difference between a fancy designed pair and a regular pair because they both keep our eyes protected. Figure 1: Sunglasses reflect the suns bad light away. The sunglasses started in the U.S. in Atlantic, NJ when Sam Foster released an inexpensive pair of uv resistant glasses. This meant that the uv rays would be kept out of our eyes. Years later, a man named Edward Land came up with the idea of polarizing the lenses. This means that almost no harmful light could get in.Sunglasses are tinted lenses meant for keeping our eyes safe from the sun, also keeping uv rays out. They do also keep our eyes safe from the sun. Figure 2: Sunglasses use polarized lenses to reflect the sun’s harmful rays away and keep our eyes safe.

Polarization Polarization in sunglasses is when the sunglasses bend the bad light away. This is where the good and bad pair differs. A good pair bends the light away, but the cheap ones almost invite the bad light in. The polarization almost makes the sunglasses get rid of the threat that your eyes could get permanently harmed. Polarization is in all means a good thing.

UV rays UV rays, Ultra violet, are the harmful rays that polarization keeps out of our eyes. UV rays are what gives us sunburn and hurt our eyes at the beach. This can be avoided by wearing sunglasses, but not the sunburn part. These rays are never good unless you tan very easily.

Glossary

Tinted- Darkened lightly or made so you cannot see into Lenses- Pieces of glass used for eyeglasses or sunglasses, also sometimes used for magnifying glasses

Polarized- Being able to bend bad light away. UV(Ultraviolet)- Harmful rays that the sun gives out that often harm our skin and eyes.

Citations Brain, Marshall. How Stuff Works. Hungry Minds: New York. 2001.Print. Ardrey,Neil. How Things Work. Readers Digest: Pleasantville, NY. 1995.Print. Wikipedia.”Sunglasses”.[]. 11, 2012.Sept 14, 2012 Wikipedia. “Polarization”.[|**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarization_(waves)>.Wikipedia.Aug**] 22, 2012.Sept 24,2012 Wikipedia.”Ultraviolet”.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet.Sept 24, 2012.Sept 25, 2012 "light." Compton's by Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Wed. 20 Sept. 2012.