Life's Topics and Concerns

UV or ultraviolet light is a powerful tool used by scientists and a number of industries. Over the course of the 20th century, UV became established as a leading disinfecting method, which has led to a variety of innovtations such as the UV sanitizer wand, UV water filters and UV lab equipment. So how does it work?

UV is a spectrum of light that is not visible to the human eye. There is a range of UV light, some of which is very deadly to small organisms like germs. Most of this powerful UV is deflected from the Earth by our atmosphere, so it never reaches us. However, with the right equipment it can be reproduced by technology, and harnessed to kill germs.

This technology is so important to the technology sector because it allows equipment to be cleaned without water. For example, when you wash your dishes in the sink, they look perfectly clean to the naked eye but under magnification you could see that trace amounts of soap or dirt have been left streaked on them. Even these trace impurities could be problematic in a laboratory setting. By basking the equipment in UV light, the germs are killed without applying any foreign substances like soap or chemicals.

Because of this UV light is an effective, sterile method for disinfecting things. Outside of the laboratory it is used for a variety of household purposes, especially by people with dust allergies who don’t want to stir up dust with conventional methods.