Driving into a rising or setting sun can be temporarily blinding — and dangerous. But a new LCD film might someday allow the development of goggles or a rearview mirror that can screen out glare and still allow a driver to see.
The new material is a specially constructed sandwich of liquid crystal and two sheets of glass. A dab of red dye enhances the liquid crystal’s ability to reduce glare or intense light sources.
“The film protects against continuous, long-term light that’s below the level that will permanently damage the human eye but still intense enough to make seeing impossible,” says Iam Choon Khoo, a professor of electrical engineering at Penn State University in State College, Pa., and the film’s chief developer.
Other than car and truck drivers, the anti-glare film could also help pilots, athletes and book-addicted sunbathers.