“Urban Sun”, the artificial sun that kills CoronaVirus
We are living in isolation. The world has been in catastrophe with plastic barriers interfering in our community, our family being reduced to pixels on a computer screen, education systems being disrupted, and the rate of unemployment shooting at its highest peak ever.
Even though an increasing number of people are getting vaccinated, these mischievous viruses mutate themselves to attack human cells in their most efficient ways. Then, when will we be able to come back to meet and communicate with people freely? How long do we have to rely on vaccines and live in fear of uncertainties that viruses can mutate at any time? There is a special project that has been found after such consideration - Urban Sun.
"Studio Roussegaarde," a Dutch-based urban design studio, is drawing attention by unveiling the artificial sun "Urban Sun," which can be installed in public places in the city, along with virus experts from the U.S., Japan and Italy. The artificial sun is designed to be installed in public places like streetlights to disinfect the air using ultraviolet rays. It was created to provide people with bright lights with disinfection and sterilization functions like the actual sun.
Urban Sun is designed to overcome the current situation in which contact with people has become difficult due to the coronavirus. With a desperate desire for a "place to meet again," the government intended to create a safe space by disinfecting viruses in public places with sun-like lights. As a result, Urban Sun that produces halo such as solar eclipse has been found, and it can remove 99.9% of the virus by using UV 222 nm wavelength lighting. Although current 254nm UV rays are harmful to humans, the research team has discovered that far-UV light with a wavelength of 222 nanometers can sanitize viruses safely.
Generally, we are told that all UV lights eliminate microbes. However, the specific UVC range (which covers wavelengths ranging between 200 nm to 280 nm) can eliminate bacteria, viruses, mold, and spores, including the CoronaVirus.
During the disinfection process, UVC light targets the DNA of a microbe. Exposure to the light causes thymine dimers to form in the DNA. Thymine Dimers are produced when adjacent thymine residues are covalently linked by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The covalent linkage may result in the dimer being replicated as a single base, which results in a mutation. As more thymine dimers are formed, damage starts to accumulate inside the DNA. These cellular mutations negatively affect growth and the risk of non-repair increases. Eventually, the damage becomes too extensive, and the viral cell dies. Automatically, DNA replication is stopped, which reduces infection or the spread rate of the virus.
Urban Sun was developed as the first prototype at the Somerset House in London. The studio hopes that the artificial sun can actually be used at the Olympics or at large venues where many people gather. Professor Karl Linden, award-winning innovator in UV technologies and founding board member of the International Ultraviolet Association (IUVA), Colorado, added, "Urban Sun is inspiring. It will make enjoying public spaces safer, and I look forward to visiting locations where this far-UVC sun is shining."
References:
images :
