How does transparent sunscreen protect you from the sun?
In: Chemistry
Light has different wavelengths, these we corrolate to colour, so green has a different wavelength to red, the wavelength that gives you a suntan or sun burn is ultra violet, our eyes cannot see ultraviolet so sunscreen looks invisible, because sunscreen is molecularly chosen to only block the ultraviolet. It is similar to the effect you get with infrared seeing in the dark, infrared cameras see the infrared and display it in a colour we can see. The recent videos of OnePlus phone cameras being able to see through some plastics is also similar to this, the plastic didn’t block infrared.
It’s transparent only to colors on the visible spectrum, but not to ultraviolet light, just like a green-tinted window is transparent to green but blocks other colors. See [this demonstration](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMpqR1vyKPc&ab_channel=PyroLabs).
It’s clear because it does not reflect/absorb light wavelengths found within the *visible spectrum.* It does block and absorb wavelengths in the ultraviolet spectrum preventing your cells from absorbing that energy and taking damage.
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