Ultraviolet light can kill almost all the viruses in a room. Why isn’t it everywhere?::Can special lightbulbs end the next pandemic before it starts?

    • pearable@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      Joke aside, looks like they’re using a higher bandwidth of light, 222nm compared to more common 254nm uv for medical uses. It doesn’t penetrate the skin or eyes sufficiently to cause damage.

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      And bleaching all materials in the room. And slowly destroying anything made of paper or plastic or wood.

    • maness300@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      What if, and hear me out,

      What if…

      What if… we just ran them when people weren’t in the room? 🤯

      Crazy what happens when you can come up with your own thoughts instead of parroting reddit comments ad nauseam.

      • DreadPotato@sopuli.xyz
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        8 months ago

        What if… we just ran them when people weren’t in the room?

        This is already a thing in many hospitals, and has been used extensively even before covid.

        • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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          8 months ago

          And there are also UV systems that can be added to air ducts to kill off airborne pathogens as well. But they’re not cheap and not commonly used outside of medical facilities.

      • CustodialTeapot@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Lemmy users don’t respond well to reasonable criticism or facts.

        Only toxic and stupid comments allowed.

  • weew@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    “X can kill gems! Why don’t we use X everywhere?”

    X: Thing that can kill humans too. And/or cause cancer.

    See also:

    • Fire

    • chlorine gas

    • dehydration

    • Boiling water

    • Radiation

    • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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      8 months ago

      But what if we just inject the bleach? Or what if we just shine the light on the inside?

      • XeroxCool@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I’m so tired of this misrepresented quote. He said take the blood out, THEN bleach it. Covid deaths would drop overnight but y’all ain’t ready for that talk

        • Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz
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          8 months ago

          “I see disinfectant, where it knocks it [coronavirus] out in a minute—one minute—and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside, or almost a cleaning. Because you see it [coronavirus] gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that.”

          There is nothing in his quote about taking taking the blood out first, he’s talking about doing the cleaning inside the body. But lets assume for a brief moment that what you say is accurate, and someone is going to take out your blood and clean it with bleach… THEN what? Now your blood is too toxic to put back in the body. Do you just kick back for a minimum of 24 hours while waiting for the chlorine to evaporate? It doesn’t work if you only take out some of the blood, because it is constantly being mixed in your body, so you have to somehow completely drain a person without them dying. Now repeat that for 8 billion people, because this process would still do nothing to protect you from getting exposed again as soon as you walk in to a store.

          You might also consider how covid would have gotten into the blood in the first place – it entered the body through the lungs, and continues to grow there (which is why some many people had lung damage). So I guess while you’re killing the patient by removing all their blood, you might as well take out the lungs and bleach them too? Who here can’t hold their breath for 24+ hours? There’s just no way any of this could ever be used as a serious treatment. Yeah covid deaths would drop overnight, but only because the “treatment” would have a 100% fatality rate.

          • whatever@lemmy.world
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            8 months ago

            I guess the comment you are replying to was ment as a joke. But at the same time I was hoping Trump was joking, but here we are.

            • Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz
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              8 months ago

              Unfortunately there are people who really believe this way. The same people who think Trump is some sort of god and can do no wrong.

        • 4am@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          Boy, this is the internet.

          If you’re being sarcastic you better throw a /s on there because no one can tell in 2024 if your a chucklehead or if you’re high on Ivermectin.

    • morrowind@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      tbh I wouldn’t mind running some of my stuff through a cleansing by fire ritual once in a while

  • bfg9k@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    “Hydroflouric Acid can kill almost all viruses in a bowl. Why aren’t we eating it?”

  • jayandp@sh.itjust.works
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    8 months ago

    Because it’s great at killing things, including human skin. Seriously, my local gym has people practically sign their life away before letting them into a UV-A/B tanning booth. No way are you putting the even worse UV-C bulbs out in public. That’s how people got their retinas fried at a crypto conference in Hong Kong last year.

    • Sagifurius@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      People think I’m nuts when I wear sunglasses on cloudy days, but my eyes hurt. Idk why they don’t hurt the same way sunny days, probably I don’t squint when it’s not so sunny.

      • jayandp@sh.itjust.works
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        8 months ago

        Probably the scattering effect of the clouds. Instead of light coming from one direction, which you can angle away from to reduce intensity, the diffused light from the clouds is bouncing every which way. Which while making the intensity less, instead keeps it constant no matter where you face. I often wear sunglasses while driving on cloudy days for similar reasons.

        Basically, looking at direct sunlight will obviously be more damaging, but diffused light doesn’t give you a break.

  • frezik@midwest.social
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    8 months ago

    This thread might be the worst example of “I didn’t read the article, but I’ll comment anyway” that I’ve seen.

  • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    UV light is both: A. Damaging to eyesight. B. Invisible.

    You won’t know how much damage you’re doing to yourself until the damage has been done. This is how you give mass amounts of people eye trauma, and potentially blindness.

  • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    UV light is regularly used on HVAC systems and water purification systems.

    There are systems used in hospitals that are automated which will roll into an empty room and then turn on to disinfect the room. They are usually used in hospitals but I’ve seen them used in places like China during their zero covid crackdown on public transportation.

    Some transit systems in China even converted a paint booths to disinfect with UV so they could drive buses through. All of which is probably overkill as prolonged exposure to sunlight will do the same thing.

    Exposure to UV light that is intense enough to kill viruses within seconds is very bad for humans. I pulled the cover off a system I was taking marketing pictures for while it was turned on. Within a thirty to sixty seconds I could feel like I was getting a sunburn on my arm that was closest to the light. I wouldn’t want to risk a direct UV system turning on while someone is sleeping and burning them. As a result most systems are indirect and rely on a combination of UV and HEPA filters to disinfect airborne viruses.

    There are other ways to disinfect surfaces. Bleach or chlorine is cheap, simple and won’t harm humans. Chlorine gas can be used to kill really bad viruses like anthrax. Chlorine gas was used to disinfect the Federal buildings that had been contaminated in the 2001 anthrax attacks. Many detail shops, rental car agencies and public transit systems in the US use Chlorine gas on vehicles to disinfect or more commonly remove nasty odors from vehicles. The gas can seep into all cracks/crevices and get into the HVAC system ductwork in ways UV light can not. If you ever get into a car that faintly smells like a pool, chances are it has been gassed recently to kill an odor.

  • skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de
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    8 months ago

    Pretty counterintuitive that in order to make UV less dangerous for humans, you can make it more ionizing. Anyway, I’d expect problems with degradation/yellowing of plastics, bleaching of everything in range, and massive issues with indoor ozone and some other forms of air pollution

    • Dadifer@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      I’m a little confused about the ozone because I know multiple people that have literal ozone makers in their home.

      • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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        8 months ago

        Because people are morons who will snort straight asbestos because some quack said it is healthy for them.

        Ozone is super unstable and will oxidize most organic compounds. It’s great in the upper atmosphere where it absorbs deadly UV rays, but it is super dangerous to be inhaling regularly.

  • RaincoatsGeorge@lemmy.zip
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    8 months ago

    We use uv light stands in the hospital. We will shut down a room and run a uv sanitizer for a bit. It works in some instances but it’s not exactly something you can just leave running all the time. Everyone would probably have a sick tan tho… To go with their skin cancer…

  • SlamWich@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Jeez, every response in here is about it burning your eyes. Thing is, people aren’t in every room all the time. Have it set to a sensor, same as the lights, and you can quickly sanitize large spaces that are unoccupied. Elevators, airplanes, etc can be sanitized the second they’re empty. My FIL is a retired GE engineer working on this technology.

    • derf82@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Have it set to a sensor, same as the lights

      Given how often the lights go out at work while I’m taking a dump, this isn’t the best idea.

      • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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        8 months ago

        It’s definitely easier to tell if something is in a room than it is to tell if nothing is in a room. And sensors still fail at that. Timers would probably be better, since you don’t need disinfection every time a room is used.

        If you know the office building will be empty every day at 2AM have the lights do their work between 2-3 every morning.

    • piecat@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Sounds dangerous

      I have lights go out on me all the time at the office, just sitting mildly still. What happens if someone falls asleep in the room? Or worse a kid? Severe sunburn and possible blindness

      • JargonWagon@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        Or what if they’re black? I’ve read so many stories about sensors not detecting people simply because they have darker skin.

      • atthecoast@feddit.nl
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        8 months ago

        Better presence sensors exist, and are only used in such critical situations. These are based on radar and sense the chest movements of people.

    • SoylentBlake@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      The light can be tucked away into the HVAC. The light never needs to hit anyone. You got central heating/cooling? One light, whole building. It’s almost criminal this isn’t common.

      • And009@lemmynsfw.com
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        8 months ago

        That is… Genius, the light probably needs some time to work but the idea of disinfecting a at a central location can work well for indoor air.

        But my sweaty mouse pad, and dust stuck on the floor would need another system.

    • doggle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      8 months ago

      I’ve been in a restroom and had the lights turn off on me because a sensor didn’t detect someone was still I the room. I’d bet good money I’m not the only one. Sensors, presently, are either invasive or inaccurate. Or both.

    • AFK BRB Chocolate@lemmy.world
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      8 months ago

      Ever noticed how stuff left out in the sun gets bleached out and doesn’t last very long? Imagine leaving your carpet and all your furniture out in the sun. UV light is very hard on stuff.

    • lud@lemm.ee
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      8 months ago

      Who the hell thought that an NFT festival was a good idea and unprotected UV lights?

      Maybe the organisers were exposed to gamma radiation lwhen they thought up the event.

  • stoly@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Because it is very dangerous and people will absolutely let their toddler play next to the lamp. This is why it’s basically only used in places like hospitals where access can be controlled.

    • viking@infosec.pub
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      8 months ago

      In the US maybe, elsewhere it’s common and accessible. Here in China it’s commonplace in home water filters and air purifiers for instance. I can also buy endless UV-C LED strips and do with it whatever I please.

  • Wahots@pawb.social
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    8 months ago

    Did anyone actually read the article? The only guy whose question wasn’t already answered by the article was the one about yellowed plastics, lol.