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Does anyone think that the material from the astronaut's sun visors could be used to make the windows for the spacecraft that goes to Mars? So that when they look out the windows they won't get hurt by the sun's ultraviolet light.
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Ummm sure, they could be coated by vapor deposition with a number of materials, including metallic gold used on space suits. I wonder what Shuttle & ISS use now?
[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]
[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]
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I know that low-e windows sold commercially for houses and office buildings reflect 98% of UV-B and UV-C. It transmits about 85% of visible light; although it has a slight azure tint (it reflects more red). It also reflects UV-A but that depends on frequency, it reflects 15% (transmits 85%) at the border with violet visible light, and tapers to reflecting 98% at the border with UV-B. It also reflects IR light, which is why it's used for buildings on Earth, but that has a more complicated performance by frequency. This is a silver based compound, known scientifically as spectrally selective.
Then there is a plastic called polyvinyl butyral (PVB). It's used for laminated glass such as windshields of cars. Although it's primarily used to bind two layers of glass, it blocks 99% of UV-B and UV-C. If all car windows used it, you wouldn't have UV degradation of upholstery.
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Using straight polymers concerns me, I would prefer an inorganic compound (metal based) of some sort, since the polymers' molecular nature may degrade over time with the intense bombardment of unfilterd UV light (no Ozone to stop it in space) and/or damage by the Solar Wind.
[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]
[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]
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PVB and low-e are two different things. If you don't like polymers then use the silver compound, it's cheaper than gold.
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