Some of the latest
hum I have come across in my research involves UV. Ghost Hunter International
broached the subject lightly in their first season. A few different groups
touch on it- but nothing all that solid. I even ventured into a conversation
with biology PhD about UV, honeybees, American Kestrels, and covalent bonds.
Returning yet again, to rummage the internet for information.

First, what is UV?

I crawled the ’net
in search of something I could understand and ended up at http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/physical_science/magnetism/em_ultraviolet.html with information that made
sense. Which is below:

"Ultraviolet
radiation lies between visible light and X-rays on the electromagnetic
spectrum. UV
"light" has wavelengths between about 380 and 10 nanometers. The wavelength of
violet light is around 400 nanometers (or 4,000 Å). Ultraviolet radiation
oscillates at rates between about 800 terahertz (THz or 10¹² hertz)
and 30,000 THz.

The ultraviolet
spectrum is sometimes subdivided into the near UV (380 to 200 nanometer
wavelengths) and extreme UV (200 to 10 nm wavelengths). Normal air is largely
opaque to UV with wavelengths shorter than 200 nm (the extreme UV range); oxygen
absorbs "light" in that part of the UV spectrum.

In terms of impact
on the environment and human health (and choosing sunglasses!), it can be useful
to subdivide the UV spectrum in a different way, into UV-A ("blacklight" or Long
Wave UV with a 380 to 315 nm wavelength), UV-B (Medium Wave at 315 to 280 nm),
and UV-C (the "germicidal" or Short Wave UV that ranges from 280 to 10
nm).

Earth’s atmosphere
prevents most UV radiation from space from reaching the ground. UV-C is entirely
screened out by stratospheric
ozone at
around 35 km altitude. Most UV-A does reach the surface, but UV-A does little
genetic damage to tissues. UV-B is largely responsible for sunburn and skin
cancer, though it is mostly absorbed by ozone before reaching the surface.
Levels of UV-B radiation at the surface are especially sensitive to levels of
ozone in the stratosphere."

That answered a few
questions. What specific measurement does UV occupy? Which UV is responsible
for the realignment of covalent bonds? Does all UV reach the
surface?

Now after review a
little basic UV science....

I can apply that
information to specifications of FujiFilms 2 UVIR Digital SLRs. Fujifilm
FinePix S3 Pro UVIR Digital SLR, now discontinued but available used (new $1799,
I saw one used for $850), which allegedly functions from 350nm to 1000nm. Fuji
doesn’t provide actual upper spec limits- they basically said the environment
would impact the shoot each time. The other digital SLR UVIR camera, FujiFilm
IS Pro- UVIR(body only $2600, kits start at $2700), functions from 380nm to
1000nm, the biggest difference in this later model is ability of 3200 ISO. Fuji
does report some blurring with this model.

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/proPhotoProductS3UVIR.jsp

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/proPhotoProductIS-Pro.jsp?NavBarId=item870325

I found one UV
capable camcorder, UVcorder. It’s an interesting composite of parts. A Sony
camera with a "Ultraviolet Camera Module" mounted atop that. It functions in
the 300-400 nm range- the near-UV range or "blacklight" level from what I can
gather. The bonus is realtime view on the 3.5"screen and the direct burn to
media. The drawback, I think I finally scavenged a price of $4600 or so for
it. I know, ouch!

http://www.uvcorder.com/products/

So, my next
questions...

What spectrum of UV
do entities manifest in?

If the UV
"disperses" them, does that mean it’s rupturing some sort of bond similar to the
covalent bond rearranging/ruptures by UV-B that occurs in human
cells?

Does the blacklight
"flashlight" which operates (depends on models) from the near UV of 400nm to
more forensic geared 380-385nm have an impact?

BTW... want a
blacklight flashlight... just google it, they’re everywhere. Used in forensics,
scorpion hunting, money and ID validations, your local club- all different kinds
of models, for all different kind of uses, at all kinds of prices.

I’ll take any input
on the subject. It’s all about learning and growing.

Originally posted MySpace 3-19-08