What’s the difference between a fluorescent light and an ultraviolet light?
This is confusing, because a lot of folks use the terms interchangeably. Typically a fluorescent light produces white light, and they are very commonly used in offices, schools and many homes as the primary artificial light source. Ultraviolet lights produce ultraviolet rays, and are used in germicidal applications, tanning salons, and to cause other objects (like posters) to glow (fluoresce). The confusion comes from the fact that fluorescent lights use ultraviolet rays internally to cause their phosphor coatings to produce white light externally, while ultraviolet lights produce ultraviolet rays externally to produce effects which white light doesn’t (like suntanning, or killing germs, or causing fluorescent objects to fluoresce). What is ultraviolet light (UV)? Scientists use a model of light that characterizes it by its wavelength; for example, the wavelength of red light is about 650 nanometers. Violet light has a shorter wavelength, about 400 nanometers. However, visible light is
