New techno-windows will make houses happier and healthier by letting blue light through
- Glass built to let through blue light
- Blue light does not brighten rooms - but governs biorhythms which tell us when to sleep
- Can have important knock-on effects on health
A new kind of glass could make houses happier and healthier, German scientists have claimed.
Normal glass blocks some light - including blue light.
Blue light governs people's 'biological clocks', which tell us when to sleep and wake up - and missing out on blue light can have important knock-on effects on mood and health.
A new glass, called 'Uniglas Vital' is designed to let through blue light, using a special coating - creating the same feeling as an open window.
The 'Vital' glass is designed to allow blue light to pass through, which affects human beings' biological clocks, even though it's not the brightest colour we can see
Modern heat-insulating, sun-protection glazing for offices and housing isn't optimized to allow the light that governs our hormonal balance to pass through.
Uniglas Vital has been designed to let blue light pass through - the frequency that affects our biorhythms the most.
The effect is like leaving a window open.
The new glass was announced by Fraunhofer this week - although as yet there is no price or release date.
Blue light isn't the brightest colour we can see - but it is what governs the 'circadian rhythms', the biological clock that tells people when to sleep and when to wake up.
‘Our biorhythms are not
affected by the wavelengths that brighten a room the most, but rather by
blue light,’ explains Walther Glaubitt, a researcher
at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Wurzburg.
¿Our biorhythms are not affected by the wavelengths that brighten a room the most, but rather by blue light,¿ explains Walther Glaubitt, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Wurzburg
secret is a special, long-lasting and barely perceptible inorganic
coating that is only 0.1 micrometers thick, designed to ensure as much blue light as possible get through.
The glass transmits light most at wavelengths between 450 and 500 nanometers - which is exactly where the effects of blue light are at their strongest.
‘Nobody's ever made glass like this before. It makes you feel as if the window is permanently open,’ says Glaubitt.