Related topics: skin cancer

Researchers chart Orion Nebula like never before

Star and planet formation is a messy affair. It starts with the gravitational collapse of a gigantic cloud of gas and dust, which simultaneously produces massive stars, whose intense radiation field creates a harsh environment, ...

Tracing the origins of organic matter in Martian sediments

Although Mars presents a barren, dusty landscape with no signs of life so far, its geological features such as deltas, lakebeds, and river valleys strongly suggest a past where water once flowed abundantly on its surface. ...

Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet (UV) light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV. It is so named because the spectrum consists of electromagnetic waves with frequencies higher than those that humans identify as the color violet.

UV light is found in sunlight and is emitted by electric arcs and specialized lights such as black lights. As an ionizing radiation it can cause chemical reactions, and causes many substances to glow or fluoresce. Most people are aware of the effects of UV through the painful condition of sunburn, but the UV spectrum has many other effects, both beneficial and damaging, on human health.

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