Photochromic lenses are lenses that stay transparent indoors, but darken when exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun. Essentially, they provide the benefits of glasses and sunglasses in a single frame. The first photochromic lenses were patented in the 1960s and were made of glass.
Blackout glass provides an on-demand blackout effect that achieves the goal of blocking out any light. As part of growing trend towards the increased use of switchable smart glass in building design, blackout glass is a unique type of electric glass that has multiple applications.
Smart glass, also known as switchable glass, dynamic glass, and smart-tinting glass, is a type of glass that can change its reflective properties to prevent sunlight and heat from entering a building and to also provide privacy.
Dimmable glass, which is used primarily for shading, is created by placing millions of light-absorbing microscopic SPD nanoparticles on film. The film is then laminated between two panels of glass or polycarbonate with adhesive interlayers that are coated with a transparent conductive material.
The most significant disadvantage of switchable or smart glass is its expensive cost, despite the energy savings it delivers. The price varies from one manufacturer to the next, but you can expect to pay a minimum cost of $130 per sqm.
Switchable glass products can be powered on for at least 100,000 hours. This makes the average lifespan of smart glass 15-20 years.
If installed internally (no direct sunlight), used daily and for 50% of the time switched off and on, the laminated switchable films will last between 15-20 years.
Just like one-way mirror glass, one-way mirror film still requires one side to be brighter than the other. One-way mirror film is a window film that lets light in, but you can't see through it from the exterior. An easy way to think about one-way window film is that it's the see out but not see in window film.
Smart glass goes by many other names such as switch glass, light control glass, privacy glass, PDLC glass and switchable glass. While the names may vary, the technology works the same way.
Frosted glass is just one type of obscure glass. It is glass that has been acid etched to create a pitted surface on the panels. This permits some light to pass through but prevents little more than shapes or silhouettes to be seen on the other side. Frosted glass is particularly popular due to its versatility.
Due to the difference in appearance from the inside and outside, reflective glass finds more applications in building facades and exteriors. It is available at a reasonable price. Reflective glass costs more than tinted glass.
Residential window tinting typically costs between $5 and $19 per square foot of glass for an average cost of $30 to $114 per 6-square-foot window*. In this cost guide, we break down window tinting pricing details so you'll know what to expect. *All cost data in this article is sourced from Fixr, Angi, and HomeAdvisor.
Depression glass is glassware made in the period 1929–1939, often clear or colored translucent machine-made glassware that was distributed free, or at low cost, in the United States and Canada around the time of the Great Depression.
Uranium glass also fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light and can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive Geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive.
Transparent objects cannot form a shadow. They are only formed in opaque or translucent objects. If we take a glass slab, no shadow is formed because it allows light to pass through it.
The electric privacy film contains liquid crystals that align to an applied electric field, creating transparency (On state). When the electric field is removed the liquid crystals scatter the light making the glass to appear opaque (Off state).
Smart windows are costly compared to traditional glass, averaging between $50 and $150 per square foot. Compare this to $10 to $15 per square foot for regular window glass. The final cost will depend on which type of smart window you want, which you can explore below.
Google on Wednesday announced that it has stopped selling its Glass Enterprise smart glasses, adding that it will also stop supporting its software on September 15. The move brings an end to a product that was first sold back in 2013.
At night, mirrored privacy film will block out 95% of the light to give you a high level of privacy. There will also be a reflection on the window at night from streetlights or other external light sources, this will prevent anyone from seeing in.
The reflective finish of one way privacy window film gives the glass a one way mirror effect when there is more light on one side than the other. This means that, during the day, people on the outside of the window can't see in through the glass, while you can still see clearly through it from the inside.
Disadvantages of Reflective Glass:
In winters, it can block the essential solar heat. Hence, there will more need of heating the room, which may lead to increase in electricity bills. Thus reflective glass windows are not an economical option in colder climate.
Switchable smart glass, often just called smart glass, is a type of glass that switches between see-through (like normal glass) and frosted (which can't be seen through) at the touch of a button. The change in smart glass is instantaneous, like flicking a light on and off and adds a dramatic feature to any room.
Switchable glass also makes a terrific room divider, shower screen, partition or even a dividing glass wall between a bathroom and bedroom.
Privacy Smartglass, also referred to as privacy glass or switchable glass, is electric switchable glass with adjustable opacity. It uses electro-chromatic technology to interchange between transparency and an opaque state by applying voltage.