Nanotechnology and Its Uses for Skylights and Glazing
Low e3 glass is standard on all Velux skylights, but what is Low e3? Low-e3 coatings reduce the amount of ultraviolet and infrared light that can pass through glass without compromising the amount of visible light transmitted.
Low e3 coatings are only about 19 nano-meters in thickness. They usually apply 8 coatings on the skylight, for a total thickness of about 150 nano-meters. A human hair is about 75,000 nano-meters thick.
Think of it this way, the coatings keep the glass transparent to visible light, but solid (like chrome or silver) to UV or Infrared light.
Definition
Nano·tech·nol·o·gy Research and technology development at the atomic, molecular or macro-molecular levels, in the length scale of approximately 1 to 100 nano-meter range.
- Creating and using structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small and/or intermediate size.
- Ability to control or manipulate on the atomic scale.
The nano-scale is about a thousand times smaller than the micro scale (i.e. microscopic) or about 1/80,000 of the diameter of a human hair. Approximately 3 to 6 atoms can fit inside of a nano-meter, depending on the atom. The prefix nano means ten to the minus ninth power, or one billionth (1/1,000,000,000). Nano-scale technologies are the development and use of devices that have a size of only a few nano-meters.
