Essay On Ultraviolet Radiation

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Ultraviolet radiation, also known as UV rays, is energy that comes from the sun. It falls under invisible light on the electromagnetic light spectrum. It is more towards the violet side; hence, why it is named ultraviolet light. UV rays have higher energy and shorter wavelengths. According to live science, “it has frequencies of about 8 × 1014 to 3 × 1016 cycles per second, or hertz (Hz), and wavelengths of about 380 nanometers (1.5 × 10−5 inches) to about 10 nm (4 × 10−7 inches)” (Lucas). Our eyes are not able to see UV rays, because our eye receptors have not evolved to see it. The UV radiation category can be observed on figure 1 of the electromagnetic spectrum. Figure 1 UV radiation was discovered by Johann Wilhelm Ritter in …show more content…

The most referred to and common usage of Ultraviolet is the UV rays coming from the sun causing skin cancer. We use sunscreen to protect ourselves. Getting a sunburn is a very painful experience, whether severe or a slight sunburn most people have experienced the sensation. Gary Chuang, a well versed dermatologist explains the process of sunburn stating “continued exposure to UV radiation can overwhelm the body's defenses. When this happens, a toxic reaction occurs, resulting in sunburn. UV rays can damage the DNA in the body's cells. The body senses this destruction and floods the area with blood to help with the healing process” (Lucas). This is also when the body becomes inflamed and skin cancer can start forming. The more someone gets burned the higher they are at risk for skin cancer. The DNA is trying to repair the skin damage, but sometimes the process fails and causes skin cancer. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer. Every five times a person is burnt, their chances of skin cancer doubles (Lucas). One interesting form of skin cancer treatment is the actual use of ultraviolet light. How can ultraviolet radiation be used to help skin cancer? Is that not the thing that caused it in the first place? Lucas writes “it may seem counterintuitive, but psoralen ultraviolet light treatment, PUVA, can be useful due to UV light’s effect on the production of skin cells. It slows down the growth that plays a major role …show more content…

As Xenex, a UV sterilization company writes, “high intensity ultraviolet light is produced by our xenon flash lamps across the entire disinfecting spectrum known as UV-C. This UV-C energy passes through the cell walls of bacteria, viruses and bacterial spores” (How UV). The UV robots are killing the bad infections throughout the hospital. As discussed earlier, the UVC radiation is much higher energy than the UVB and UVA radiation. Other than extreme ultraviolet radiation, UV robots use the highest spectrum of ultra violet energy. A hospital may cut down on cost of janitorial work, employees will not take as much sick leave, and patients will have a cleaner hospital with the long term investment of UV robot. The problem with UV sterilization is that there is no way of measuring it. Therefore, the success cannot be measured. The UV robots work, but there is no way to tell if it killed every bacteria or pathogen. Despite this, UV robots have been proven to be an effective ways to clean hospitals. Figure 4 shows a picture of a UV robot in a

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