Does harmful sun (UV?)pass through clear glass

ruby27 | 15:37 Mon 28th Jul 2008 | Science

2 Answers

When I was travelling in the today car I wasn't in the shade. So is your skin exposed to any level of damage?

If the harmful bits (not a technical term I know) of sunlight can not pass through glass, why do sunglasses need to have certain filters on them?

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Teddio

Hi Ruby. In short yes. Ordinary window glass will let through some harmful radiation from the Sun causing damage to the skin. The blue end of the visible spectrum and some low energy ultraviolet light, both harmful, will pass through ordinary glass (UVA and UVB).
It is very important to ensure sunglasses have effective UV filters since wearing sunglasses allows the pupils to be more dilated allowing more UV to enter the eye.

ruby27

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Teddio Thank you for your answer.

I feared that might be the answer, this now means I will have to wear long sleeves and a hat even when driving.

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