Ballistic eyewear
Ballistic eyewear is a form of glasses or goggles that protect from small projectiles and fragments.
[1] Ballistic eyewear including examples that meet APEL requirements are commercially available for anyone who wishes to buy it.
[1] Some options, including the Wiley X PT-1 and Talon as well as Revision's Sawfly and the Desert Locust Goggle can be obtained in prescription lenses that meet the ballistic protection standards.
People who use ballistic eyewear include those who regularly use firearms or are involved in activities where their eyes or faces may be exposed to small fragments.
Hunters are also frequent users of ballistic eyewear because of the possibility of a ricochet or the recoil of the firearm that may result in injury.
In addition to ballistic performance, the U.S. military standard includes requirements for optical clarity, protection from UV rays, fit, chemical resistance, and environmental stability (properties won't be changed by exposure to a range of temperatures or levels of humidity).
"Increased robustness" (marked S) can withstand a 22 mm steel ball weighing 43 g dropped onto the lens from a height of .38 meters (15 inches).
During World War I, laminated glass was used to make small, round lenses in gas masks and for windshields in military motor vehicles and aircraft.
(For a number of recent years, the DuPont chemical company gave a Benedictus Award for the innovative use of laminated glass in architecture.)
In the 1940s, manufacturers figured out how to sand and make safety glasses and goggles for welders, construction workers, and the like.
Investigations since this early work have included examining the effects of manufacturing and layering techniques on the ballistic performance of polycarbonates.
thicknesses of allyl resin and tempered glass as a function of the diameter of a small steel ball, impact velocity, and curvature of the lens.
[11] In 1996, Belkin described new ballistic eyewear that also provided improved protection from injuries caused by laser light reaching the eyes.
While they demonstrated a successful concept, they recognized that advances in manufacturability were still needed for such protective eyewear to be affordable and plentiful.
