the future we deserve (and one fun thing)

#5SmartReads - May 14, 2025

#5SmartReads is a Webby-honored weekly news digest that amplifies underreported news and underrepresented perspectives. My goal is to help you stay informed without being overwhelmed, and to embrace nuance and reflection over picking a side.

The future to fighting airborne viruses is in…lamps? (Vox)

It is. There’s a fair amount of evidence showing that far-UVC (ultraviolet light at 200-250 nanometer wavelength) kills a majority of airborne pathogens (COVID, flu, even tuberculosis), without damaging skin or eyes.

It’s been a year and half since this technology was first reported, along with its limitations (these lamps are expensive and fragile), and there wasn’t enough data to confirm this technology’s impact on air quality.

The preliminary far-UVC lamps are a lot like florescent bulbs - gas and electric charge enter a tube to create light. These lamps require specific filters to emit only a far-UVC wavelength, and a filter failure could do more damage than good (in letting more dangerous wavelengths through), and these tubes require regular replacement.

LEDs for far-UVC are showing a fair amount of success, as are second harmonics. When an aluminum nitride crystal is shot with a 444 nm blue laser, it emits a 222 nm far-right UV light - the exact wavelength required for killing airborne pathogens.

Better yet, this technology is fairly inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

The safety risk with far-UVC was how much ozone and particulate pollution they generate, and how much ventilation would be necessary to minimize this exposure to humans. And while we need more data, the recent publications show that the ozone exposure is minimal from these lamps, and using them in well-ventilated spaces or installing them in high ventilation areas offers a better safety profile.

It’ll be years before this technology becomes the norm, but it’s incredibly promising. And hopefully less controversial than vaccines and other therapeutics.