Verilux VH01 manual Introduction, About Light and UV-C Light

Introduction

Your new Verilux® CleanWave® Sanitizing Wand kills up to 99.9%† of germs, allergens and odor causing bacteria on hard surfaces.†

We hope you enjoy this product and use it frequently. Your results will be cumulative – your “kill rate” may be 90% during your first use on a surface, then “90% of the remaining 10%” on your next use.

About Light and UV-C Light

Visible light is electromagnetic wavelengths visible to the human eye. The wavelength of visible light, in nanometers, is about 400nm to 750nm. A nanometer is one billionth of a standard metric meter.

Ultraviolet or UV light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum – from about 10nm to 400nm – that contains frequencies just higher than visible light.

Ultraviolet light was discovered by German physicist Johann Ritter. In 1801, Ritter was experimenting with silver chloride, a chemical known to break down when exposed to sunlight. He found that light at the blue end of the spectrum increased the reaction.

Experimenting further, he discovered that the reaction was even more efficient when exposed to light beyond blue – light that was invisible. He called this new type of light ultraviolet, meaning “beyond the violet” (ultra comes from the Latin for “beyond”).

UV light is invisible to humans, but birds and some species of insects, snakes, turtles and fish can see ultraviolet light.

UV light can be divided into various wavelength bands with differing characteristics.

The Sun emits ultraviolet radiation in UV-A, UV-B and UV-C bands, but because of absorption in the ozone layer, 99% of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches Earth is “long wave” UV-A.

UV-A, also known as “black light,” creates fluorescent effects at your local disco and “midnight bowling” sessions as UV light (which cannot be seen) is absorbed by materials and re-emitted in the visible range.

UV-B “medium wave” rays both help and hurt. Too much UV-B exposure causes sunburn and can damage human tissue. Too little UV-B exposure leads to a lack of Vitamin D absorption in animals.

The higher energy “short wave” UV-C band rays (100 to 280 nanometers) are lethal to micro–organisms. This range is known as the Germicidal Spectrum.

UV-C light sanitizes micro-organisms and biological pollutants, including

†Kills up to 99.9% of germs, viruses and other micro-organisms on solid, non-porous surfaces. Sanitizing times and effectiveness for porous surfaces may vary.

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