Are UV CCFL dangerous?

[IQJUMPuw]

Hey all

I have 2 UV CCFL's in my case and I was wondering if they are bad for your health if you leave them on for a long time.

Also, this is a pretty dumb question... but... Are UV lights and Black lights the same thing?

hehe Thanks everyone!

 

[CoBRaXT]

I'm pretty sure the lights aren't bad for you, or else people would've started to complain already.
And to answer your second question, black lights is just another name for UV lights.

 

[ChefJoe]

UV light is somewhat dangerous. It's more liable to cause dna damage and give you a tan. More importantly, you're not supposed to look into the light directly. I have a couple UV lights in my case, and I avoid looking at the bulbs for any length of time. If you do look at them for a while, you'll notice your eyes start to hurt or water. Now, dangerous, not in the grand scheme of things. See recommendations above for how to avoid danger.

 

[IQJUMPuw]

Holy mama!

Good thing I didn't have them on for a long time. My case is underneath my desk so my legs probably got darker. hehehe

Thanks!

 

[Vonkhan]

If they were, I'd be dead by now! Between 2 rigs, I have 6 ccfls + 4 black lights in my study!

 

[damonpip]

There's three types of UV, UVA and UVB, UVA is the least dangerous, UVC is the most. The CCFLs are definately UVA, and can cause some damage to your eyes, but it's not likely unless you are actually staring at them for long periods of time.

 

[ukiro]

The reason eyes hurt from looking directly into a blacklight for extended periods of time is that the frequencies emitted are just on the border of what the human eye can see. Since the eyes will struggle to focus, they are strained and will eventually hurt and water. Theer is no dangerous radiation involved.

I've had a 36W UV flourescent tube as a ambient ceiling light in my flat since 1995 with no problems. If a cold cathode light would be the least bit dangerous I'd be dead from cancer by now, and I'm obviously not

About tanning; it takes a 2000W UVA light at 50cm (a foot and a half) distance to give you some tanning effect at short-time exposure (half an hour or so), so a little cold cathode light isn't likely to have any such effect even if you use your case as a bed pillow.

 

[IQJUMPuw]

Awesome~!

Thanks for all the info guys. I will go turn them back on.

 

[digitalix]

The UV CCFLs that are sold emit light at a higher wavelength than those that could do real damage to you. I think the rays from UV CCFLs are around 510+ nm whereas those that could do damage (the ones being radiated by the sun and what not) run under 460nm. Approximates but you get the idea.

 

[ChefJoe]

Visible spectrum is generally reguarded as 400-750 or 800 nm. UV is below blue (400 nm) and runs to around 100 nm.

http://www.multichannel.se/Public/spectra_lamps.pdf a little google goes a long way.

http://www.phys.ksu.edu/perg/vqm/laserweb/Glossary/Glossary.htm
Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation
- Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between soft X-rays and visible violet light, often broken down into UV-A (315-400 [nm]), UV-B (280-315 [nm]), and UV-C (100-280 [nm]).