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Blacklight
Light fixture that emits long-wave ultraviolet light and very little visible light / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A blacklight, also called a UV-A light, Wood's lamp, or ultraviolet light, is a lamp that emits long-wave (UV-A) ultraviolet light and very little visible light.[1][2][3] One type of lamp has a violet filter material, either on the bulb or in a separate glass filter in the lamp housing, which blocks most visible light and allows through UV,[2] so the lamp has a dim violet glow when operating.[4][5] Blacklight lamps which have this filter have a lighting industry designation that includes the letters "BLB".[2][4] This stands for "blacklight blue". A second type of lamp produces ultraviolet but does not have the filter material, so it produces more visible light and has a blue color when operating.[2][3][4] These tubes are made for use in "bug zapper" insect traps, and are identified by the industry designation "BL".[4][5] This stands for "blacklight".
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Blacklight sources may be specially designed fluorescent lamps, mercury-vapor lamps, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, or incandescent lamps. In medicine, forensics, and some other scientific fields, such a light source is referred to as a Wood's lamp, named after Robert Williams Wood, who invented the original Wood's glass UV filters.
Although many other types of lamp emit ultraviolet light with visible light, blacklights are essential when UV-A light without visible light is needed, particularly in observing fluorescence,[3][4] the colored glow that many substances emit when exposed to UV. They are employed for decorative and artistic lighting effects, diagnostic and therapeutic uses in medicine,[2] the detection of substances tagged with fluorescent dyes, rock-hunting, scorpion-hunting,[6] the detection of counterfeit money, the curing of plastic resins, attracting insects[3] and the detection of refrigerant leaks affecting refrigerators and air conditioning systems. Strong sources of long-wave ultraviolet light are used in tanning beds.[3]