Tesla’s Weird Orange Glass Roof Is Layers Of Cool Science

People in temperate climates all over the world have begun noticing that Tesla’s glass roofs sometimes look a rusty orange colour. Here’s what’s behind it
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Tesla Model 3s and Model Xs are equipped with a special glass roof, but it’s only with the onset of winter that people are beginning to notice one of the panel’s most impressive traits.

While the Model X is too tall to have revealed this secret before now, the Model 3 is much lower. People have begun to notice how the glass roof sometimes looks a rusty orange colour. Glass can’t rust, obviously, so people have been wondering what is going on.

The two glass panels that make up the Model 3’s roof are more complex than most simple car glass. They are impregnated with a UV-reflective layer that is specifically designed to repel those wavelengths of light that cause an enclosed space to heat up; commonly known as the greenhouse effect.

Reducing the greenhouse effect is crucial for an electric car because the climate control has to work less hard, sapping less of your driving range in the process. The other reason that blocking UV rays is so crucial in a glass-roofed car is to avoid sunburn on the sensitive skin on top of people’s heads. Some cheap panoramic glass roofs don’t offer any protection at all.

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But why orange? Observers have tallied that the roof has to have water on it before it appears this colour. When the droplets are this tiny, the colour looks like a full spread across the roof. It’s simply down to refraction of the rays through the layer of condensation. The rays travel through the droplets twice, changing direction enough to make the UV-reflective layer look orange.

This shade indicates the more advanced technology that doesn’t block wireless data signals. Some cars use a metallic layer within their windscreens that sometimes looks purple from the outside, but don’t expect great mobile signal if it’s in a cradle below the screen.

Source: Jalopnik

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Comments

ᴶᵘˢᵗᴬᴿᵃⁿᵈᵒá

Wow…. That was interesting

11/01/2018 - 09:45 |
48 | 0
Bring a Caterham To MARS

Tesla stocks drop 5% just for the hell of it

11/01/2018 - 09:58 |
182 | 2
London

Pretty cool 😎

11/01/2018 - 10:26 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Yeah I saw that once when I was on the bus to home

11/01/2018 - 10:40 |
4 | 2
Twin Turbo Ewok

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

There are Model 3s in India??

11/01/2018 - 17:05 |
4 | 2
Anonymous

It looks like mars. Is Elon Musk plotting some journey to mars and this is just a hint

11/07/2018 - 02:55 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I think there has been some other tiiiiny hints

11/23/2018 - 13:17 |
0 | 0
Ryan L.

that’s what they want you to think. the real reason is that it was SPOOKY SZN

11/08/2018 - 15:33 |
0 | 0