# Shady Solar Eclipse Glasses **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718 "2017-08-15T15:49:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/21 "2017-08-15T22:16:25Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I hope the OP doesn’t mind if I piggyback off this thread rather than start a whole new one for myself, but I’m driving like 10 hours south to get a better view of the eclipse, and I was under the impression I could just pick up some glasses once I got down there. Is that a foolish assumption? The language “By now it’s too late to look for new glasses” worries me. Have I shot myself in the foot, or can I just walk into a Duane Reade or something and find them there? I’ll be in the Raleigh area, in NC. Bring some cash. I suspect most of the eclipse glasses sold went to locals who plan to make a killing in the inflated cardboard glasses market on Monday before they go back to being worth half a nickel again on Tuesday. I will actually be surprised if every single intersection in the path of totality Monday morning doesn’t have at least one pickup truck or van filled with boxes of overpriced eclipse glasses for sale. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/22 "2017-08-15T22:20:31Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I hope the OP doesn’t mind if I piggyback off this thread rather than start a whole new one for myself, but I’m driving like 10 hours south to get a better view of the eclipse, and I was under the impression I could just pick up some glasses once I got down there. Is that a foolish assumption? The language “By now it’s too late to look for new glasses” worries me. Have I shot myself in the foot, or can I just walk into a Duane Reade or something and find them there? I’ll be in the Raleigh area, in NC. Good thing you aren’t going to St. Louis. The reports for several days have been that no one can find glasses anymore. Checking on Craigslist, I see one person selling lots of 25 for $80, another selling 5 for $20, and a handful of individual pairs for $10-$15 each. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/23 "2017-08-15T22:23:21Z")
I’m not enough of a capitalist, I guess. I gave glasses away to anyone at the gym that wanted them. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/24 "2017-08-15T22:26:01Z")
The glasses I ordered over a month ago from Amazon were recalled and, like you, I’m having no luck at all finding any replacements. While I appreciate the refund, I really wish Amazon had at least sent out the cardboard eclipse glasses to replace them. ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/25 "2017-08-15T23:32:25Z")
If your glasses were (purportedly) made by American Paper Optics, [this page](https://www.eclipseglasses.com/pages/safety) has photos showing the difference between the legitimate ones and the fakes. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/26 "2017-08-16T00:18:59Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > I hope the OP doesn’t mind if I piggyback off this thread rather than start a whole new one for myself, but I’m driving like 10 hours south to get a better view of the eclipse, and I was under the impression I could just pick up some glasses once I got down there. Is that a foolish assumption? The language “By now it’s too late to look for new glasses” worries me. Have I shot myself in the foot, or can I just walk into a Duane Reade or something and find them there? I’ll be in the Raleigh area, in NC. The eclipse glasses my family bought from Amazon were recalled. Sunday, my husband went in search of glasses locally. He went from store to store and finally found some at a Walmart Marketplace, which is a Walmart grocery store and smaller than a big Walmart. There were about twenty pair of American Paper Optics glasses there. Check with your local library, too. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/27 "2017-08-16T01:29:58Z")
One of our local libraries is doing an eclipse event (the main branch in downtown Akron) but you have to be at their event to use their glasses. I put my glasses on and “tested” them by staring at different light sources to see how they look. I read that I should be able to see the flashlight/flash on my phone - which I was - and naked bulbs - which I can. I couldn’t see the light coming through my window, or my phone on its brightest setting. However, my glasses don’t even purport to be up to ISO-whatever standards, just CE standards. So, I guess I’ll just stare at the ground and catch photos and videos later. Shame, because my area is one of the few that doesn’t expect to have cloud cover. Oh! Yes, I will call my optometrist’s office this week and see what they’ve got. I have to call them anyway to schedule an appt. Thanks all for the help and yes please feel free to keep discussing. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/28 "2017-08-16T02:01:32Z")
I can’t see shit through the 11 filter from the welding helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/29 "2017-08-16T02:03:43Z")
You can make a pinhole projector or camera to experience the eclipse, too. Protect your eyes! > **[Can’t find eclipse glasses anywhere? Make these DIY pinhole cameras,...](https://www.ajc.com/news/local/can-find-eclipse-glasses-anywhere-make-these-diy-pinhole-cameras-projectors-instead/E9XwC4saAV7RtduUlqa5hP/)** > > Having a hard time finding solar eclipse glasses for Eclipse 2017? Heres how to make a pinhole camera or pinhole projector to watch the eclipse safely. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/30 "2017-08-16T04:46:32Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > FYI - Amazon is sending these messages out for ALL products that are eclipse-related, even certified ones! I bought two different sets and only got the message for one of them (which I was already skeptical of). The other is on all of the approved lists, etc., and they haven’t said anything about them. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/31 "2017-08-16T05:00:15Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > I bought two different sets and only got the message for one of them (which I was already skeptical of). The other is on all of the approved lists, etc., and they haven’t said anything about them. Here’s one quote (there are many more): > [@](#): > > Two separate Amazon solar eclipse glasses sellers called KGW Saturday following Amazon’s recall. Both said their products were verified as safe and manufactured by companies approved by NASA. But their glasses are still under a recall. > > Manish Panjwani’s Los Angeles-based astronomy product business, AgenaAstro, has sold three times its average monthly revenue in the past month. Ninety-five percent is related to the solar eclipse. He hired seven extra temporary workers just to help with the pre-eclipse boom. > > Panjwani’s eclipse glasses come from two NASA-approved sellers: Thousand Oaks Optical in Arizona and Baader Planetarium in Germany. He said he provided documentation to Amazon proving the products’ authenticity weeks ago, with no response from Amazon. > > On Saturday morning, he woke up to 100 emails from customers after Amazon issued a recall for his products. > > “People have some of the best glasses in the world in their hands right now and they don’t believe in that product,” he said. “They’re out there looking for something inferior.” > > Panjwani said Amazon is temporarily retaining some of his profits because of the recall.He also has almost 5,000 glasses at an Amazon warehouse, which customers can no longer purchase. > > “That’s just sitting there. I cannot sell it and I cannot get it back in time for the eclipse,” he said. > > Amazon sent Panjwani this statement following the recall: > > “Due to the evolving circumstances around Eclipse glasses, it’s important that you have funds available to address customer returns. We will be holding back a portion of your funds from prior sales of Eclipse glasses and will continue to evaluate the need to hold a reserve for these funds. As we learn more about the safety concerns related to Eclipse glasses, we’ll assess changes regarding your disbursement reserve balance." > > A second eclipse glasses seller based in Tucson, Ariz., Lunt Solar System, said their products are also verified but under a recall anyway. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/32 "2017-08-16T05:49:49Z")
I got some Amazon glasses too, and today I said fuck this shit and hit a local welding supply store. Place is a total hole in the wall, the kind of place that welders go but nobody else ever would. They don’t usually stock #14 plates for goggles but a year ago the proprietor of this place got real smart and ordered a fuckton of the plates and the goggles (that normally have #5 glass in them, you pop that out and replace with the 14) and I picked up two plates for three bucks each. I damned well know they’re fine and I’m not risking my vision on some bullshit Chinese crap glasses. Suckers got the ISO and ANSI certification numbers right on 'em. If you’re in the Portland metro area, it’s Jones Welding on NE 112th and Sandy. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/33 "2017-08-16T12:35:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I can’t see shit through the 11 filter from the welding helmet. [Here’s the equation for shade number as a function of transmittance (T=0 means blocks everything, T=1 means it blocks nothing).](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbance#Shade_number) If you run through the math, you get this: Shade #11: T = 0.0001931 Shade #14: T = 0.00001 IOW, shade 11 lets in twenty times more light/heat than is considered safe for looking at the sun. So you’ll still want to supplement your shade 11 lens with something else that has a transmittance of just 5 percent, which corresponds to a shade number of about 5.4. Goggles typically used for oxyacetylene are shade 5, so if you use both of those items together, you’ll hit a shade number of about 13.7, probably good enough. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/34 "2017-08-16T12:45:10Z")
Thanks, Elf. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/35 "2017-08-16T14:18:33Z")
Last night a local station did [a report on eclipse glasses](http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/35789835/where-to-get-safety-glasses-for-august-total-eclipse), and one 711 had a shipment of 600 pairs of glasses at 4 PM and were sold out by 10 PM. And [that 711](http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2017_GoogleMapFull.html?Lat=34.67265&Lng=-82.53230&Zoom=17&LC=1) is very rural. (And a couple of miles from my house.) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/36 "2017-08-16T14:41:02Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > [Here’s the equation for shade number as a function of transmittance (T=0 means blocks everything, T=1 means it blocks nothing).](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorbance#Shade_number) > > If you run through the math, you get this: > > Shade #11: T = 0.0001931 > > Shade #14: T = 0.00001 > > IOW, shade 11 lets in twenty times more light/heat than is considered safe for looking at the sun. So you’ll still want to supplement your shade 11 lens with something else that has a transmittance of just 5 percent, which corresponds to a shade number of about 5.4. Goggles typically used for oxyacetylene are shade 5, so if you use both of those items together, you’ll hit a shade number of about 13.7, probably good enough. Could you check your math on this? If I understand the formula, I’m getting: T = 10\[1\] S=11 —\> T = 5.2 x 10^-5 S=14 —\> T = 2.7 x 10^-6 Different values, but in agreement with a factor of about 20 between the two. But by my reckoning shade 4 with shade 11 is exactly equivalent to shade 14, because if transmittance multiplies, you just add the (1-S) terms in the exponent, and (1- **4** ) + (1- **11** ) = (1- **14** ) * * * 1. 3/7 (1-S) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/37 "2017-08-16T14:51:02Z")
ETA: **Obviously, please don’t rely on my math until Machine Elf has checked** — normally I trust his math better than mine, and maybe I’ve misunderstood the formula, and I know nothing about this. Obviously we should make sure we get this right. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/38 "2017-08-16T15:20:44Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Could you check your math on this? :smack: :smack: :smack: I used the second formula at my link (SN = …), and it looks like I put the 1 inside the parentheses instead of outside. Pure luck that my mistake gave an answer that was safer rather than more dangerous. :eek: Having fixed my mistake, I can confirm that you did your math right: a shade 11 lens stacked with a shade 4 lens is equivalent to a shade 14 lens (which sounds nonsensical in a 1+1=3 way, but it’s true). Thanks for double-checking. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/39 "2017-08-16T15:25:23Z")
Thanks - so the bottom line is if you stack two on top of each other, the effective shade number is the sum of the two **minus 1**. I think I’m going to my local welding supply store to see what I can find. No doubt they are sold out of 14, but it might well be possible to find a combination that works, and I think I trust that more than the glasses I got from Amazon at this point. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718/40 "2017-08-16T16:04:44Z")
You can still get (not-counterfeit) ones at brick & mortar retailers. I got mine at Walmart. Lowes and Toys R Us are also selling them. Mine cost a dollar. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shady-solar-eclipse-glasses/793718.md?page=3)