Gizmodo reports scientists have discovered a specific wavelength of UV light that’s both safe for people and can kill coronaviruses, both on surfaces and in the air.
Researchers from Columbia University and Japan's Hiroshima University, have found that a UVC light wave of 222 nanometers does the trick.
It's unable to penetrate the eye’s tear layer or the dead-cell layer of skin, preventing it from reaching and damaging living cells in the human body.
The Columbia study found 25 minutes of exposure to the UVC light killed 99.9% of two common coronaviruses that cause colds.
Hiroshima University researchers confirmed that far-UVC light was effective at killing SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19.
They exposed a viral culture on a polystyrene plate to a far-UVC lamp at a distance of 24 centimeters, which killed 99.7% of the virus in just 30 seconds.