How do bright lights damage our eyes? Are UV/IR lights more detrimental, such as when looking at the sun?
In: Physics
They damage them by burning directly into the back of your eye, generally the macula (centre vision), like a magnifying glass through your pupil. Exactly how your skin burns when you get to much sun, except the eye is far more delicate. Let the light sit in one spot long enough the burn grows deeper, causing solar retinopathy.
UV/IR compared to visible light are more dangerous because you can’t see them.
If a bright visible light is poited at your eye you will instinctively close your eye and look away.
With UV/IR you won’t notice anything before the damage is already done and your eye starts to hurt.
IR/visible light will damage eye by heating it up. Like DeanMfker said the eye will focus the light like a magnifying glass.
UV is ionizing radiation so it can cause damage even at low intensity when it isn’t enough to heat up the tissue. This will cause [photokeratitis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photokeratitis) (snow blindness, arc eye, welder’s flash. It has many names.).
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