New kind of sunglasses!
The lenses that the researchers have developed are made of a kind of electrochromic polymer, a material that can alter its levels of darkness and color in response to an electric current. The glasses only require power when they change hue.
So far Xu and her colleagues have developed prototype shades that resemble a pair of lab goggles with a dial attached onto the frame. Turning this dial activates the tiny watch battery powering the goggles and dials up the desired color. A single watch battery can power thousands of changes. The researchers presented their findings Tuesday at the American Chemical Society annual meeting.
In the lab, the researchers have shown their glasses can quickly switch from transparent to blue, plus various shades in between, at the flip of a switch, requiring minimal energy consumption. "We are working on a multicolored device as well, but no prototype is available yet," Xu said.
Source & Image:
LiveScience