ABSTRACT
Ultraviolet (UV) electromagnetic radiation is employed in many industries and applications. This chapter begins with a basic review of fluorescent and UV tube technology. It discusses the germicidal effects of UV electromagnetic radiation on deoxyribonucleic acid and the UV dosage level required to inactivate many lethal varieties of microorganisms such as anthrax, E. coli, and influenza. The UV spectrum lies between the visible light range the human eye can detect and x-rays. Lamp technology was the only way to produce UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C electromagnetic radiation. The fluorescent lamp is predominantly a UV-C light source that uses an inorganic triphosphor coating on the inside of the lamp to fluoresce and convert the UV-C electromagnetic radiation into white light as seen by the human eye. The amount of UV required to inactivate a specific target organism involves many different factors in addition to the relative size of the target.
