Since our childhood, we have often been told not to look at the sun directly as it can lead to blindness. Looking at the sun directly without using any necessary precautions can damage your eyes. Therefore, to avoid this we use hats, caps, umbrellas, sunglasses, etc. However all these aids are not safe to gaze at the sun directly. So the question arises can you look at the sun with a welding helmet?
What if someone wants to look at the sun directly? Is there any equipment to gaze at the sun directly without getting blind? The answer to all these questions is Yes you can look at the sun with the use of a welding helmet. However, there are only certain helmets that ensure sufficient eye protection.
In this article you will know if it is safe to use a welding mask to look at the sun or eclipse, how certain welding helmets are designed to allow sun gazing and what happens to your eyes when you look at the sun directly.
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Is it safe to use a welding mask to look at the sun?
Welding helmets are designed to protect the welder’s eyes from sharp and bright welding sparks. Ultraviolet and infrared light being emitted by the welding arc can lead to flash burns, arc aye, retinal damage, macular degeneration, etc.
A welding helmet is a kind of personal protective equipment, a headgear that covers your eyes, face, and neck thoroughly. It ensures your safety from ultraviolet rays, flash burns, infrared rays, sparks, and heat.
Welding helmets contain a window on the front which is either covered with different filters known as lens shade or various types of tinted glass, plastic, etc. Through this window, a welder can see what he is working on. If you’re planning to step into welding field, here are some best welding schools in USA.
After getting an answer to your question “can you look at the sun with a welding helmet”, the next question that comes to your mind is “Is it safe to use a welding mask to look at the sun”. Does it provide sufficient safety to look at the sun? Yes, it is safe to look at the sun using a welding mask.
However, it is only safe unless and until you are using a proper lens shade and the helmet is being manufactured by an authentic company.
Welding Helmet Lens Shade
These lens shades corresponding to their numbers filter out the harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays from reaching your eyes. Welder’s usually use lens shades between 10-13. The lowest shade to be used is 2 which is the worst one and can lead to eye damage.
The higher the shade i.e 14, the better it will be able to filter out all harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiations.
NASA Safety Guidelines
As per NASA Safety Guidelines you can look at the sun while using a welding helmet of shade 12 or higher. So any shade lesser than this can lead to eye damage. The higher the shade number the greater will be the safety of your eyes. Looking at the sun without any precautionary equipment is strongly prohibited. NASA recommended the use of special sun gazing social filters to look at the sun directly.
Welding lens shade 14 is the ideal one to look at the sun directly. Some also recommend shades 12 and 13 as shade 14 can become too dark. Although these shades 12 & 13 lessen the amount of damage still you will put your eyes at risk by using any lower shades. Some people may feel shade12 too bright and shade 14 too dark.
If you found an old welding helmet and you are not sure about its lens shade then it’s better to not use that helmet to look at the sun directly as it can put your eyes at serious risk of getting damaged.
Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet
Auto-darkening helmets containing LCD electronic shutter to adjust the light automatically have been in use since 1981. They were designed to make the welding process easier and safer.
Indeed auto-darkening helmets are no less than a blessing for welders. These helmets eliminate the need to adjust them manually which in turn saves the welder’s time. Its auto-darkening mode adjusts itself according to the varying level of brightness.
- We can use auto-darkening helmets to see the sun directly but it is important to know that not all these helmets have their range up to shade 12.
- These helmets have their darkening limits and are being labeled according to their strength. Not all auto-darkening helmets darken up to shade 14.
To keep your eyes safe you must know how to use and set them. There are sensitivity and delay settings that are responsible for the quicker darkening response. This quicker response will allow less exposure to harmful radiations. Always remember to keep the sensitivity up and delay down.
Can you look at the eclipse with a welding mask?
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes in between the Earth and the Sun while casting a shadow on parts of the earth and blocking the sunlight fully or partially. It is a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.
Solar eclipses are not safe to look at especially without the use of any precautionary equipment. Ordinary sunglasses and even the darker shades of lenses will not offer suffice protection.
Although solar eclipses are dim that does not mean they are not harmful to your eyes. There is still a risk of getting your eyes damaged by invisible rays.
If you are going to be a part of the solar eclipse party, you need to buy adequate safety equipment for that i.e solar eclipse glasses which look like 3D glasses or welding helmets.
Due to the rarity of this event, you might not be able to get your hands on authentic solar eclipse glasses as they run out of stock so quickly, in that case, you can safely rely on welding helmets.
NASA Eclipse Safety Guidelines
According to NASA safety guidelines, welding helmets only having a shade 12 or higher are suitable for viewing the solar eclipses. However, NASA still recommends the use of specialized eclipse glasses.
These glasses should meet the ISO 12312-2 safety standards. Therefore, NASA recommended glasses with ISO 12312-2 printed on them by the following authentic companies TSE 17, American Paper Optics, Thousand Oaks Optical, and Rainbow Symphony.
What happens if you stare at the sun directly?
Just like your skin, your eyes also have the potential to get sunburned. The ultraviolet rays being emitted by the sun can cause significant damage to your eyes.
There are 3 types of ultraviolet rays UVA, UVB, UVC.
UVC– fully blocked by the ozone layer but due to depletion of the ozone layer we are still exposed to them to some extent.
UVB – partially blocked by the ozone layer, most harmful rays to your skin and eyes, responsible for suntan, longer exposure may be hazardous.
UVA– weaker rays but can be responsible for macular degeneration and cataracts
Symptoms of eye damage
The longer you allow your eyes to be exposed by harmful ultraviolet radiation, the greater will be your eye damage. Ultraviolet radiation entering your eyes leads to excess free radical formation which in turn damages your cons and rods photoreceptors. According to NVISION, following are the minor and major eye issues.
Minor Issues:
- Irritability and burning sensation
- Redness and watery eyes
- Burning
- Blurred vision and short term loss of sight
- Seeing halos and gritty feeling
Major Issues:
- Cataract
- Macular Degeneration
- Solar Retinopathy
- Photokeratitis
- Pinguecula
On the whole, you can see the sun and solar eclipse using welding helmets and these helmets are safe to look at the sun. All you need to make sure is, an accurate shade number is being used. Sungazing can lead to various eye diseases which can easily be avoided by taking necessary precautions.
For more information regarding how welding helmets works and how lethal UV rays can be for your vision, check the following link
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