What are Polarized Sunglasses Made of?
The first polarized lenses were made of a polarizing film that was sandwiched between two flat sheets of glass. Because glass lenses are so heavy, however, the advent of plastic and polycarbonate materials, which are lighter and thinner, made the glass lenses less popular. One of the problems with early polarized sunglasses was delamination, when the polarizing film separated from the pieces of glass or plastic. This problem has been solved with modern lenses, as the plastic can be melted and poured into a mold in which the polarizing film has been suspended. The plastic then hardens around the film, creating a solid material, rather than a layered one. Polycarbonate lenses are created in a different manner, since polycarbonate lenses are injection molded and the heat from the process would destroy the polarizing film. For polycarbonate lenses, the polarizing film is applied to the front of the lens and covered with a scratch-resistant coating. This process means that polarized polycar
