Blocking UV Rays w/ a Medicine Bottl Did you know there's an email to friend
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Did you know there's an "invisible" form of the Sun's energy? This form of energy is called ultraviolet radiation, or more commonly known as "UV-Rays". Solar scientist, Jim Stryder, shares his the UV-Ray discovery he made while participating in a program known as Solar Week, produced by UC-Berkeley, and (NASA). He came across a unique method of demonstrating the "power" of ultraviolet radiation (uv-rays) for K-12 students using UV Energy Beads.

Written by Jim Stryder, Grand Junction, Colorado

Materials

- You'll need a supply of UV Detecting Energy Beads
- Sunscreen
- An assortment of pill bottles from your pharmacy.

Experiment

While using UV-Sensitive Beads, supplied by Steve Spangler Science, I put some of the beads in various types of plastic bottles, like water bottles, soda bottles, etc, to test various uv-exposure levels. Then I accidentally discovered the "magic" of pharmaceutical (medicine) bottles. Little did I know, that about 35-40 years ago, not all medicine bottles were the same as they are today. The bottles are nearly one hundred percent "uv-blockers" as well!

Rather the bottle is yellow, light amber (orange), green, red, etc, they all have one thing in common, their unique "properties", the color, and density of the plastic bottles, block out uv-rays. This also has an important medical application. The bottles are used to block out ultraviolet radiation, because exposure to sunlight can alter the chemistry of a tablet or capsule, even liquids, thus altering it's effectiveness to treat patients.

Also, I educate students about the importance of using sunscreen to prevent skin damage, that could later lead to skin cancer. This is especially true for higher elevations above sea-level, less atmospheric density, the more concentrated the uv-rays are.

I use all the various types and colors of medicine bottles to experiment with. Sometimes I use assorted bead colors, other times I use only one color of bead. The beads come in various colors like; red, yellow, blue, purple, orange. You can test this yourself by comparing the various types of common products, like different plastic/glass bottles, even water bottles, because their "thickness" levels do vary with design, and will show different levels of uv-exposures.

Virtually nine out of ten students have never seen ultraviolet radiation (uv-rays) demonstrated this way! It's also a sure bet to put both a smile on your students' faces and curiosity on their minds!