With the advancement of technology, the ways to solve health problems have also advanced. Initially, people used to take the help of handheld glasses for vision impairment and then came the era of spectacles. And now, the latest aid for vision is contact lenses. These have definitely made people’s life a lot easier.
Key Takeaways
- Plastic lenses are lightweight, impact-resistant, and affordable.
- Glass lenses offer better optical clarity and scratch resistance.
- Glass lenses are heavier and can shatter more easily than plastic lenses.
Plastic Lens vs Glass Lens
Plastic lenses are made from a type of plastic called polycarbonate or other similar materials. Glass lenses are made from glass. They are heavier and more fragile than plastic lenses. Glass lenses are more expensive than plastic lenses and can be more difficult to repair or replace.
The plastic lens is seen as more on the expensive side but is a lot easier to handle option when it comes to regularly wearing the lens. They are cheap and also allow better refraction of light. Although they are much more prone to scratches nowadays, they come covered with scratch resistance mostly.
Glass lenses are heavy in weight and are somewhat difficult to handle since they break easily. They require a lot of attention while wearing them as well as while keeping them. Glass lenses are more on the cheap or, say, the affordable side of the price range. Glass lenses are also heavy, and they get even heavier with an increase in their power.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Plastic Lens | Glass Lens |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Plastic lenses are light in weight. | Glass lenses are heavyweight. |
| Scratches | They get scratches easily. | Glass lenses are less prone to scratches. |
| Distortion | Plastic lenses show a little distortion. | These show little to no distortion. |
| Price | A plastic lens is more on the expensive side due to its many properties. | The glass lens is much more affordable |
| Breakage | A plastic lens is very durable and does not break easily on impact. | Glass lenses are vulnerable to breaking and can shatter or crack easily on impact. |
What is a Plastic Lens?
Plastic lenses have become, with time, an astonishingly feasible option among people who need a visual aid. First and foremost, these lenses are super light in weight, almost half the weight of glass lenses, making them easier to wear for a long time. Because of this, they also do not leave marks on the nose bridge and even stay in a place without sliding down the nose.
However, these plastic lenses are much more prone to scratches and getting dirty quickly. To tackle this, many manufacturers have started covering the surface of these plastic lenses with scratch resistance which acts as a shield and prevents scratches. Since these are made of plastic, they have high strength and do not break easily with minor to moderate impact or falling from an average height.
One significant disadvantage of plastic lenses is their distortion tendency. When compared to glass lenses, it is observed that the plastic lens has a greater tendency to distort images. Fortunately, plastic lenses are much less reflective, making them easier to be worn at nighttime and in flashy places. However, quickly feasible properties and many options in frames and sizes make them versatile and increase their prices.
What is Glass Lens?
Glass lenses were the very first option, or we must say the initial solution for vision impairments. It all started with using glass lenses to ease the problems faced by people with visual problems in older times. Glass lenses have many advantages and disadvantages of their own. Although most people are increasingly inclined to plastic ones, glass lenses have not lost their charm completely.
Glass lenses are amazingly scratch-free, and it is almost impossible for them to get a scratch until and unless they fall from a height or are significantly impacted. But on the other side, they are easy to break and can shatter or crack by a simple impact or fall. They also reflect much more than plastic lenses, making them hard to glare. Glass lenses are heavier, and their weight increases even more with an increase in power. Due to their increased weight, they also have a tendency to slide down the nose, and when worn for a long duration of time, they leave impressions on the nose bridge.
However, glass lenses have minimal to almost no distortion, which is really good quality. They are also less costly than a plastic lenses, making them a feasible enough option.
Main Differences Between Plastic and Glass Lenses
- The plastic lens has high distortion, while the glass lens has minimal to no distortion.
- Plastic lenses are thin and lightweight, whereas glass lens is thick and heavyweight.
- When it comes to maintenance, plastic lenses are more prone to scratches, and glass lenses are resistant to scratches.
- The plastic lens is durable and does not break easily, while the glass lens can crack or shatter with impact.
- The plastic lens is much more expensive. On the other hand, glass lens is less expensive than plastic ones.
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/4071546/
- https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.78.1.72
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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