Does the color of the mirror coating affect the bandwidth of light reflected?

[Neophyte Optician]

Does the color of the mirror coating affect the bandwidth of light reflected? For example, if a patient orders a more yellowish/orangish color mirror, would that reflect more the blue light spectrum compared to if they were to order a silver mirror?

[Tallboy]

Do you mean does it affect the bandwith of light transmitted through the lens? I mean of course it affects the bandwith of the light reflected, you are seeing the result by the color of the mirror!

(And yes it also affects the bandwith of light that is transmitted. My blue mirrored grey lenses have an almost rose colored hue when looking out of them, very cool and relaxing while driving!)

[Neophyte Optician]

Do you mean does it affect the bandwith of light transmitted through the lens? I mean of course it affects the bandwith of the light reflected, you are seeing the result by the color of the mirror!

(And yes it also affects the bandwith of light that is transmitted. My blue mirrored grey lenses have an almost rose colored hue when looking out of them, very cool and relaxing while driving!)

So, if I wanted to reduce the amount of blue light transmitted through the lens, I should be able to do that with any mirror color that has a wavelength greater than the blue wavelength? For example, a green, yellow, orange or red mirror would reduce the amount of blue light transmitted through the lens? Am I correct?

[braheem24]

Color of the mirror is the color blocked by the lens, if you want to reduce blue light order a blue mirror.

[Tallboy]

So, if I wanted to reduce the amount of blue light transmitted through the lens, I should be able to do that with any mirror color that has a wavelength greater than the blue wavelength? For example, a green, yellow, orange or red mirror would reduce the amount of blue light transmitted through the lens? Am I correct?

No, when we "see" a color in the world around us, it is because that specific wavelength of light is being reflected from a surface towards our eyes while the rest of that lights energy is absorbed by the material. In a colored mirrored lens, the color of the mirror is the visible spectrum being reflected to us, while the rest is being transmitted through the lens below. The mirrors that an astronaut wears on their helmets for instance are made to block out the higher intensity of certain waves of light (visible and not visible) and the colors of their mirrors are a result of that. Solar mirrors like these are much more functional than the fashion mirrors you are asking about.

Anyway I'm not the best at exlplaining this stuff, but its great that you want to learn more. Google is your friend

[Neophyte Optician]

No, when we "see" a color in the world around us, it is because that specific wavelength of light is being reflected from a surface towards our eyes while the rest of that lights energy is absorbed by the material. In a colored mirrored lens, the color of the mirror is the visible spectrum being reflected to us, while the rest is being transmitted through the lens below. The mirrors that an astronaut wears on their helmets for instance are made to block out the higher intensity of certain waves of light (visible and not visible) and the colors of their mirrors are a result of that. Solar mirrors like these are much more functional than the fashion mirrors you are asking about.

Anyway I'm not the best at exlplaining this stuff, but its great that you want to learn more. Google is your friend

Okay, so what I gather is that if I want to reflect blue light with a mirror, then I would need to have a blue mirror. This reflectance is different than transmittance. In transmittance, I would not want a blue lens to reduce blue light. In fact, that would result in the opposite of what I want. Is that correct?

Now back to the mirror/reflectance question. Does it matter if the mirror coating is a metallized coating versus a dielectric coating. From my understanding, metallized coatings absorb all of the wavelengths of light even though it may have multiple possible colors. Dielectric coatings, however, reflect a specific wavelength of light. So, for example, if I wanted a mirror coating to help reduce the transmittance of blue light while maintaining "brightness of vision", would a dielectric coated blue mirror provide more light transmitted through while reflecting blue light compared to a metallized coated blue mirror that would reflect all of the wavelengths including blue but decrease the amount of total light transmitted resulting in "dimmer" vision compared to the dielectric coated one?

[Paul Smith LDO]

First off what are the lenses intended use. Keep in mind that a mirror coating can reduce the amount of transmitted light. Making viewed objects darker than with a conventional tint.

[Neophyte Optician]

I have a grey polarized lens that I would like to add a mirror coat to in order to reduce blue light transmission. Would I be able to accomplish this by using a blue dielectric coated mirror coat, or would that make the lenses too dark since it's already a grey 3 polarized lens? From my understanding, a dielectric mirror coat would only reflect the blue wavelength without absorbing the other wavelengths. Consequently, this shouldn't make perceived objects too much darker like using a metallized blue mirror coat would. Am I correct, or am I way off base?

[Chris Ryser]

Does the color of the mirror coating affect the bandwidth of light reflected? For example, if a patient orders a more yellowish/orangish color mirror, would that reflect more the blue light spectrum compared to if they were to order a silver mirror?

You will not need any mirror coating to reflect the blue light. You simply treat the lens with a UV 400 solution and the lens will absorb all 100% UV and the visible blue light around the 400 nm level.

Mirror coatings hide the eyes of the wearers, and are cosmetically un-important/

[Paul Smith LDO]

I have a grey polarized lens that I would like to add a mirror coat to in order to reduce blue light transmission. Would I be able to accomplish this by using a blue dielectric coated mirror coat, or would that make the lenses too dark since it's already a grey 3 polarized lens? From my understanding, a dielectric mirror coat would only reflect the blue wavelength without absorbing the other wavelengths. Consequently, this shouldn't make perceived objects too much darker like using a metallized blue mirror coat would. Am I correct, or am I way off base?

I would opt out of the Gray C and replace it with a Brown C or you could add a Blue reflective coating on the lens if you are more concerned with the value perceived through the Gray C.