Medical Ultraviolet Lamp
Just like visible light and infrared light, ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation and lies on the spectrum between violet light and X-rays. While ultraviolet radiation in large doses is hazardous to humans, a certain amount is required by the body to function normally. As it strikes the skin, ultraviolet rays activate the chemical processes that produce vitamin D in the body.
Middle-ultraviolet lamps produce radiation of a slightly shorter wave-length than near-ultraviolet lamps or “black lights.” They employ an excited arc of mercury vapor in a specially designed glass bulb. Because middle-ultraviolet radiation is very similar to that produced by the sun, these lamps are frequently used as sunlamps and are often found in tanning salons.
Far-ultraviolet lamps produce high-energy, short-wavelength ultraviolet light. Like middle-ultraviolet lamps, they use mercury vapor tubes. Far-ultraviolet radiation bulbs require the bulb to be constructed from quartz. Far-ultraviolet light has been found to destroy living organisms such as germs and bacteria.
