Quote:
Originally Posted by filmo
Fluorescent lights output only UV light without thin phosphor coating on inside of tube. I used such light to help kill bacteria.
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Minor nit. A low pressure mercury vapour lamp without a phosphor layer emits UV but it also emits some visible light in the blue and green range. The main output is at 253.7nM (UVB range) with a second major spike at 184.9nm (UVC range) but there are some minor spikes in the visible range. I used to own an EPROM eraser with a little clear plastic plug that allowed you to see if it was on -- hopefully before your retinas were permanently erased. I will date myself and admit to owning a "black light" when I was much younger. From what I later read, that lamp used a phosphor to convert the UVB and UVC wavelengths to UVA and a special glass (Wood's glass?) envelope to filter out the remaining UVB/UVC.