{"id":1036,"date":"2024-01-31T02:55:39","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T02:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/?p=1036"},"modified":"2024-01-31T02:56:22","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T02:56:22","slug":"anti-reflective-coating-on-glasses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/anti-reflective-coating-on-glasses\/","title":{"rendered":"Anti-Reflective Coating on Glasses: Are They Worth the Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While purchasing new eyewear you may on occasion have been asked whether or not you would like an anti-reflective (a\/r) coating on your lenses. What exactly is an a\/r coating? Do you need it? How this coating works and what it does is a fascinating subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Refraction vs Reflection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As light encounters a lens, three things happen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some of the light passes through the lens (this is called refraction),<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>some of the light is absorbed and converted into heat energy (very small amounts), and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>some of the light bounces off.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"492\" height=\"276\" src=\"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/reflection-vs-refraction.jpg\" alt=\"reflection-vs-refraction-illustration\" class=\"wp-image-1038\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/reflection-vs-refraction.jpg 492w, https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/reflection-vs-refraction-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Light bouncing off the lens creates glare. Glare or reflections can be annoying and in some severe cases can decrease visual acuity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are some cases in which these reflections can be amplified. A lens with a higher index (a thinner lens) is a much denser material and provides more resistance to light, creating more reflections as well as a lens that has a flatter front curve.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some prescriptions require the front of the lens to be very flat. This flat surface can act a bit like a mirror bouncing light and creating troublesome reflections.\u00a0 Even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/sunglasses\/\" title=\"sunglasses\">sunglasses<\/a> need an a\/r coating. The back of the lens acts like a dark concave mirror, which is why the coatings are often applied to the back of the lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do Anti-Reflective Coatings Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How exactly do these coatings work? This is where things get a bit technical. Anti-reflective coatings rely on a principle called destructive interference. Several layers of coatings, such as magnesium fluoride, are placed atop one another each half a wavelength thick. As a wavelength of light hits the lens, it can bounce back the light out of phase, thus eliminating the reflection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In turn, there is another action that happens. This is called constructive interference. This phenomenon increases light transmission. For example, light transmission in a conventional plastic lens is increased from 91% to 99.5%. In high-index lenses, the transmission is increased by 10 to 12%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, the name anti-reflective is a bit misleading. No coating has been introduced that will create 100% light transmission. Often, you will see a colored reflection off of one of these coatings. Each company has a trademark color that they feel will either cosmetically enhance the lens. Typically, it is a color that the eye is less likely to pick up on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Future of Anti-Reflective Coatings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re like most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyeglasses\/\" title=\"eyeglasses\">eyeglasses<\/a> wearers, then you likely have tried a\/r coatings and were less than thrilled. You might have had a problem with the lenses smudging or the coating coming off.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news is that within the past few years, there have been many advancements in this field. New and better techniques have been employed to change the aforementioned problems.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, whether or not an a\/r coating is needed truly depends on the patient. It is never strictly necessary. But if you want to invest in a great pair of lenses that will optically perform at their best and are cosmetically appealing, a lens with an a\/r coating is a good option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While purchasing new eyewear you may on occasion have been asked whether or not you would like an Anti-reflective coating on your lenses. What exactly is an a\/r coating? Do you need it? How this coating works and what it does is a fascinating subject.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[162,159,160],"semantictags":[],"class_list":["post-1036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-knowledge-center","tag-anti-glare-coating","tag-anti-reflective-coating","tag-anti-reflective-glasses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1041,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1036\/revisions\/1041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1036"},{"taxonomy":"semantictags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.1800getlens.com\/eyetopics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/semantictags?post=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}