Using UVC Ultraviolet Light to kill the Covid-19 virus.
Some recent studies confirm that SARS-CoV-2 is one of the viruses, along with other types of coronaviruses, that can be killed by ultraviolet light rays.
Actually, we've known that UV light kills a lot of different germs since the late 1800s when scientists discovered that shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet light rays emitted by the sun — what we now call ultraviolet-C rays or UVC light — could kill bacteria. And unlike the longer wavelengths of the sun's UV light, UVC rays don't naturally hit the Earth's surface, so they're particularly lethal for microbes that haven't had a chance to adapt to them.
Since then, UVC technology has been used for sanitation. Hospitals and water treatment plants, for example, rely on the rays to kill mold, viruses and bacteria. And with the promising research into COVID-19-killing potential, UVC light-emitting machines are being utilized more — popping up in empty subway cars and even the air ducts of many public places, including restaurants.
And the technology is making its way into consumer culture as well, with free-standing UVC lamps meant for your home or office. They're often labeled as desk lamps or table lights and priced in the $50 to $100 range. Alternatively, there are even cheaper, more mobile ultraviolet gadgets such as handheld wands, or light boxes with lids, that are promoted as safe, easy-cleaning tools for small objects such as phones, computer keyboards and eyeglasses.
But here's the bad news.