UV

UV is found in sunlight, and whilst it is invisible to the naked eye, we see its
effects of sunburn etc. As well as this, UV Is vital for many chemical reactions,
which I will elaborate on later. It also causes many substances to glow or
fluoresce.
Finally, most UV is classed as non ionizing but, the higher energy UV Is classed
as ionizing, but is not very penetrating and is blocked by air, giving it the name
( Vacuum Ultraviolet )
 A short history of UV.
UV was first discovered in 1801, due to the observation that silver salts darken when exposed to
sunlight, then it was discovered that UV Lightened Silver chloride soaked paper, and they were
called, Oxidising rays, which distinguished them from “Heat rays” ( Infrared ) And emphasised
their reactivity.

They are called ultra violet, as Ultra means beyond in latin, and violet is the part of visible light
with the shortest wavelength, Ultraviolet has a shorter wavelegnth than violet light.
This table is here to show the differences between, UVA – UVB – UVC etc.
 Sources and uses of UV
The main natural source of UV is the sun, but other than that, we have other ways of
producing uv radiation, with blacklight bulbs, using compounds that block out all other
wavelengths of light, the main one being a mixture of europium and strontium fluoroborate.
some uses of UV Include, watermarks on bank notes etc, disinfecting drinking water,
sterilisation and countless others.
 Benifi cal effects of UV
Radiati on
The only real benefit of UV Radiation to human health, is that it makes the product of
vitamin D possible, which in turn allows us to metabolise calcium, increase immunity
and secretion of insulin, and many more. It also gives you a tan, which is due to the
production of melanin, as a result of slight DNA damage, which your body responds to
by repairing your DNA And producing more melanin to “shield” you from further UV
damage.
 Skin cancer and other
detrimental effects
This is the major risk of over exposure to sunlight, and there are a lot of misconceptions
to do with it, it is in fact not UV-B or UV-C Radiation that cause the most damage to skin,
even though those types of radiation cause sun burn, It is UV-A That is most damaging
to DNA, as it produces free radicals in the blood which then effects DNA, and as well as
this we cannot block UV-A, or at least we cannot prove that we can block UV-A as there
are no signs of it, unlike UV-B or UV-C where the symptoms are sunburn.

As well as this, UV-A B And C all cause damage to fibrous proteins such as collagen
contributing to accelerated ageing.