Why is it bad to look at the sun?

Question

How is it bad for your eye? If it will cause blindness, how?

Answer 1

Firstly the light from the sun is very intense, secondly it contains a lot of UV (ultra violet) light. Light is very similar to an electric magnetic wave, where ultra violet light is a wave with a high frequency. Higher frequency light contains more energy and thus more capable of damaging cells. Also another interesting thing about light, after ultra violet, you get x-ray and gamma rays etc which are extremely high in energy. Did you know that the frequency of x-ray is so high, that the wave length is shorter than the gap between the atoms in your body, that is why you can see the more denser parts, like bone underneath your flesh.

Answer 2

it hurt your pupil and you go blind

Answer 3

It overexposes your pupil to light, resulting in possible damage to the retina.  Which is why whenever you do look at the sun, you see all these stars and colors and such.

Answer 4

NEVER under ANY circumstance look at the sun.

The huge amount of light (EM radiation) focused by your cornea and lens onto the most light sensitive part of your retina (called Macula) at the back of your eye will burn a hole in your macula.  This condition is called SOLAR MACULOPATHY.

People who suffer from solar maculopathy, can not see what ever they focus their eyes on.  They still have normal peripheral vision, but they won't be able to drive.  Imagine where ever you move your eyes to to look, that object that you're looking at disappears.

Worse of all... THERE IS NO CURE.

Answer 5

Too much gamma radiation enters your eyes when you look directly at the sun. That gamma radiation "Hulkifies" your eyes, causing them to grow too big for their sockets, which causes so much pressure on the eye that the vessels, cones, and rods are destroyed and you are now blind.

Answer 6

Because it can damage our eyes...

Answer 7

Well, the skin gets burn within 20 minutes without sun screen.  Same thing is true for the retina, except your lens focus the sun light like a magnifying glass.  So all the energy is concentrated on one point and it get real hot real fast.

Try using a magnifying glass under the mid-day sun, the focused sun light burns things up pretty easily.

Answer 8

The sun delivers an immense amount of infrared, light, and UV radiation into your eye.  All of that gets focused into a small area of your retina.  The visible light and UV can burn out your rod and cone cells by overloading them.  The excess shows up as heat, along with the IR.  That can cause heat damage.