Ultraviolet Lightsaber. Kill COVID-19 with Style.

Description

DIY Ultraviolet Lightsaber. MacGyvered from parts you'd find in the fluorescent light above your cubicle. This is the weapon of choice if your intent is to destroy microbes by the millions., without breaking a sweat. This build uses 100 year old UV-C technology to let you bring the fight to Covid-19. UV-C light at the spectrum we'll be using at a wavelength of 253.7 nm is a potent germicide. It works by damaging the DNA or RNA in the case of Coronavirus. This light stops the virus from doing the one thing it's good at, making clones of itself at the expense of your cells in your lungs. It neuters the beastie or more precisely deactivates it. UV-C is being used today in hospitals and municipal water treatment systems to kill germs. In 1903 Niels Finsen won the Nobel Prize in Medicine by using it to fight Tuberculosis and Smallpox. The science is solid.
*New DIY Air Sanitizer and Sanitation Station for your Lightsaber. for even more Germicidal Fun!

Details

Here's an Amazon parts list for a 55 Watt version.

Some components are optional.

All you really need is: A germicidal bulb, a compatible ballast, a plug for the outlet and something to attach everything to.

Secure the components using hot glue or Zip ties.

Hot glue works best.

If you can't find a stick, use this wooden "thing ga ma jig" I've included in the list.

Any 24' by 1.5" piece of non electrically conductive wood like material will work.

Big enough for the bulb and handle. with a little margin to protect the bulb and to keep your hand away from the ballast and wires.

Here's a link to the list.

https://a.co/fwk2ijm

New DIY Accessories for more Germicidal fun with you Ultraviolet Lightsabre.

Improvised Whole Room UV-C Air Sanitizer to use with your home built, light powered, hand held Microbial Death Machine.

Ultraviolet Germicidal Air Sanitizer build.

Works with your virus slaying ultraviolet sword of light.

Be careful! This could melt your face.

Keep in mind, this will only impact airborne germs. Commercial or in home devices like this typically use lower watt bulbs and the light is focused on some thing like the air conditioner evaporator, Which I supposed could harbor mold. UV-C light kills all microbes, eventually given enough time, intensity and proximity. Fluence is the measure of light similar to a dose of medicine. Time proximity and distance are all important. Changes to any of these quickly changes effectiveness. Inverse square law describes this. It's also important to remember that the UV-C light can only destroy what it can get to. UV-C is blocked by our Ozone layer or it'd get all of us. Some UV-A and UV-B reach the earths surface. UV-C is easily blocked. A particle of dust will block it. The effectiveness you read about for UV-C against Covid-19 has apparently now been proven. But the models all assume, clear air or vacuum between the light and the germ. It's in some less than perfect conditions. Such as designs that allow multipass exposure to the light source. UV-C is effective through other mediums like water, but the requirements and calculations are different. The more opaque the medium the less effective it be at killing germs for a single pass.

A better design, could be similar to a UV-C water sanitation design. Widely used all over the world. In fact the bulbs I use are primarily design for water sanitation but well water for a single home is a more likely application for these. Water reactors in these systems hold water for a duration to ensure proper exposure and sanitation. All microbes we worry about including Polio and Corona virus have a known exposure to UV-C light to kill or doable them. (Covid-19 apparently requires a fraction 1/3 or 1/6 exposure to disable than the common cold. What a wuss?)

Back to the point, the water containment reactor then allows the now sanitized treated water to pass. The reactor is now ready for the next batch festering pond water. It's not an uninterrupted mass of water. It works one distinct volume at a time. An air chamber built similar to a bellows could do the same for air I'd think. Capture a volume of air, expose it to UV_C for some duration, then pass it on. Cycling the entire volume of air in the room repeatedly. It wouldn't take long to cycle the air in a large room through a small bellows running constantly. It would be very easy to calculate the rate for device and room and the dose or fluence or exposure. Effectiveness or at least predictability should improve. I will build one of these eventually. But don't wait for me. I encourage others to do the same and share your results.

Chris

Use what you have. the pics show what I used. Many better ways to do this. Feel free to make and share your improvements.

The furnace air filter can be any size. Honestly, it's probably not doing a lot. Maybe slowing down the air.. Intensity, distance and duration all impact how effective UV-C is at...

Components

Build Instructions

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1

Step 1

UV-C bulbs use a dab of mercury plus a glowing hot filliment in a low pressure tube of glass to generate ultraviolet light that peaks around 253.7 nano meters, the optimal germicidal wavelength in the UV-C part of the spectrum. Not to be confused with UV-A or UV-B, UV-C has the ability to quickly damage DNA and RNA. UV-C is what's doing the microbe killing. UV-C is also the light blocked by our ozone layer that would otherwise greatly increase the rates of cataracts and skin cancer in mammals like us humans. This may be why sunshine hitting the earth lacks the germ killing abilities some would expect to find there. Perhaps that hole in the ozone layer we made years ago with aerosols and freon would make light that hits the earth more germicidal. But you have to go to Antarctica and live under the hole to enjoy these benefits. And the added risk of skin cancer and cataracts. Back to the bulb. Mercury when energized is really good at producing light at 253.7nm. This is what makes these bulbs germicidal. Fluorescent bulbs at the offices would be germicidal too if it weren't for the phosphorus in the bulb and UV blocking filter they have. Dont go opening a bulb trying to weaponize it against germs. The mercury they contain is deadly on it's own to humans even in trace amounts. Just buy a germicidal bulb. They're used widely in water purification systems for aquariums and well water to large scale municipal water treatment systems. They're also used in air purication systems. However, UV-C may not be effective in these systems. Killing a germ with UV-C light depends on 3 things. Intensity of the light in the 253.7 nm part of the spectrum, how far the germ from the light source and how long the germ is exposed to the light. Airborne germs moving fast in a mass of air at varying distances past a dinky light may not damage the germs at all. Therefore some UV-C based air purifiers systems may not work at all. This includes the portable models as well as the more expensive systems added to your home HVAC system. I would look to see what reliable 3rd party science based testing has been done on these devices before you potentially waste your money on something that will be ineffective. Or possibly detrimental your health if it produces Ozone. Ozone is created when UV strikes oxygen atoms at a specific wavelength. It can be managed by filtering light at that wavelength but that's another discussion.

Systems with enough intensity to work may generate too much ozone, something you don't want to breath. Ozone in your air feels like your breathing too much chlorine. Like when cleaning a shower with chlorine bleach and no ventilation.

Back to the DIY germ killing machine.

For this project choose a fluorescent UV-C germicidal bulb. From Amazon or elsewhere. The higher the wattage bulb, the more intense the germicidal light. 100w bulb doesn't doesn't equal 100w of UV-C light. The bulbs I've seen produce around 25% of there light in this range. But more watts means more germ killing. Back to the weapon. Purchase your germicidal bulb. Buy a matching ballast something neccessary for all fluorescent lights due to how they work. They change their electrical resistance as they' operate. The ballast, the part that hums in the light above you at the office keeps this in balance. Chose a ballast with enough capacity for the bulb or bulbs in your design. Wire the bulb and ballast together. The wiring diagram is usually right on the ballast. Wire a plug to the other end for the 110v AC wall outlet. ZIp tie it all to a stick. Add foil behind the bulb to reflect the light and enhance its intensity applied to your target. Metal foil tape used on duct works well. But not duct tape. Aluminum is great at reflecting UV-C light. Don your UV safety glasses or appropriately rated sunglasses, plug your contraption in to the wall. Preferably not while holding it for this first test and never while standing in a pool nor with both hands could create a deadly to you electrical circuit through your heart. Pick it up one handed at first. If it doesn't electrocute you, start slaying microbes. Slowly sweep the light near the surface you're sanitizing. The calculation for how much exposure is required to do the trick is a more technical discussion. Depending on the three factors mentioned intensity, proximity, and exposure time, it could take seconds to several minutes to do the job. One bulb manufacturer cited 6 inches for 10 seconds from a 32 total watt bulb kills 99. (something) % of the microbes. Keep in mind something as insignificant as a box of tissues, a crumb or a particle of dust is all it takes to shield the microbe from damage. Allowing it to remain viable and potentially pissed off for up to 17 days in the case of the coronavirus. Keep your weapon pointed at the germs, avoid prolonged contact on the skin and always wear shades while it's powered up.
****************************************************************************************************************************************
Update April 4th 2020.
Thank you for your comments and I appreciate the skeptical feedback. If anyone can suggest improvements or sees errors I've made please speak up. It really helps us all a great deal.
The text below is my response to comment rooted in healthy skepticism, I've copied it here so it doesn't get lost.
I know there's a lot of misinformation swirling about regarding COVID-19. Some of it comes from people trying to profit from this horrible situation. I am not one of them. I have nothing to gain here by promoting this and I'm going to keep it that way. I don't want people wasting time trying to figure out some non existent selfish motive before coughing up $30. I believe the sooner people have access to something like this the safer they're likely to be. I encourage people to build their own but I'd rather just give them one if that's not an option. And I will continue to build these and give them away as long as I can and for as long as I think it's helping. The science behind this thing isn't so easy to explain or to understand for anyone including me. I don't think anyone who knows me would describe me as soapbox kind of guy. I don't like the soapbox. I can't wait to get off the damn thing.

So here's an answer to a comment I received regarding my build on Hackaday from someone skeptical about whether these UV-C lights will work on COVID-19. The answer is a 99.99% yes but with some reasonable assumptions made. Nothing is 100% when it comes to this stuff. I'm a skeptic, normally. I hope others are too.

COVID-19 is new. Little direct research has been done on this new arrival to our world. So we make some assumptions. Reasonable assumptions are the foundation of science. I and many others are making the assumption that COVID-19 is susceptible to UV-C at some level just like the other 6 versions of Corona viruses are that are known to infect humans. Anything with DNA or RNA can be damaged by UV-C light in the 253,7nm wavelength of the spectrum as long as it can get to it. Different microbes including viruses die or are disabled at different levels of Fluence., the measure of this exposure. Time of exposure, distance from the light, and intensity all are factors. So I'm making the assumption that the RNA of COVID-19 can be deactivated or destroyed at some level of exposure by UV-C, just like other versions of Corona as well all other microbes we humans worry about.. And I'm assuming that it will take something less than or equal to what is necessary to kill all microbes we know about to do so. This is conservative or at least reasonable. The list of these microbes include fungus and bacteria likely to be far more resistant to UV-C. So I choose to believe exposing COVID-19 to the level of UV-C to kill every other microbe will do the trick. And that level is most often cited as 10 seconds of UV-C exposure at a wavelength of 253.7 nanometers from a 32 watt bulb 6 inches away will result in a Log 4 reduction of ANY microbial population. It will kill or deactivate 99.99% of the microbes on a surface. Nothing is 100%. I am not profiting from any of this. and I don't want to . With all the misinformation flying around such as Antibiotics killing viruses it's tough enough to pick through and determine what's real. I have nothing to gain by people believing me. I just happen to know something that will help with 99.99% effectiveness. It's cheap. It's easy to build and use. And it's safe to use unless you're a complete idiot. I don't want to come out the other side of this pandemic, assuming I will, knowing I didn't do my best to tell people a way for them to easily help themselves. It would be like not yelling fire in a movie theater. I'm just communicating what I know. You do what you want with the information. But get the hell out of the burning theater while you decide.

Here are some links to more information about UV-C .

Ted Talk on the subject: https://www.ted.com/…/david_brenner_a_new_weapon_in_the_fig…

Link to reference articles: https://www.forbes.com/…/these-uv-sanitizers-can-kill-off…/… https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324284 https://www.sciencemag.org/…/could-ultraviolet-lamps-slow-s… https://www.scientificamerican.com/…/how-does-ultraviolet-…/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3831650/…

Other: https://www.nobelprize.org/…/medi…/1903/finsen/biographical/ https://www.cnbc.com/…/cdc-coronavirus-survived-in-princess…

View all instructions

Discussions

John Loeffler wrote 04/08/2020 at 00:54

UV-C is ineffective unless unless it has a direct contact with the surface. That being Said

UVC is probably the best method os sterilizing mask because it does not effect the electrostatic charge on the N95 Fibers. Other Vapor methods and heating can effect the mask and severely degrade there performance.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.25.20043489v1.full.pdf

https://www.nebraskamed.com/sites/default/files/documents/covid-19/n-95-decon-process.pdf

Keep up the good work

Are you sure? yes | no

Josh Starnes wrote 07/01/2020 at 00:18

A great way to tell if light hits an area is to turn off all the other lights in the room, if the blue glow illuminates the wall , table ect at all, then there is a level of disinfection going on there. It does not need to be direct line of sight to the bulb.

Are you sure? yes | no

Chris.Hicks wrote 04/03/2020 at 08:41

COVID-19 is new. Little direct research has been done on this new arrival to our world. So we make some assumptions. Reasonable assumptions are the foundation of science. I and many others are making the assumption that COVID-19 is susceptible to UV-C at some level just like the other 6 versions of Corona viruses are that are known to infect humans. Anything with DNA or RNA can be damaged by UV-C light in the 253,7nm wavelength of the spectrum as long as it can get to it. Different microbes including viruses die or are disabled at different levels of Fluence., the measure of this exposure. Time of exposure, distance from the light, and intensity all are factors. So I'm making the assumption that the RNA of COVID-19 can be deactivated or destroyed at some level of exposure by UV-C, just like other versions of Corona as well all other microbes we humans worry about.. And I'm assuming that it will take something less than or equal to what is necessary to kill all microbes we know about to do so. This is conservative or at least reasonable. The list of these microbes include fungus and bacteria likely to be far more resistant to UV-C. So I choose to believe exposing COVID-19 to the level of UV-C to kill every other microbe will do the trick. And that level is most often cited as 10 seconds of UV-C exposure at a wavelength of 253.7 nanometers from a 32 watt bulb 6 inches away will result in a Log 4 reduction of ANY microbial population. It will kill or deactivate 99.99% of the microbes on a surface. Nothing is 100%. I am not profiting from any of this. and I don't want to . With all the misinformation flying around such as Antibiotics killing viruses it's tough enough to pick through and determine what's real. I have nothing to gain by people believing me. I just happen to know something that will help with 99.99% effectiveness. It's cheap. It's easy to build and use. And it's safe to use unless you're a complete idiot. I don't want to come out the other side of this pandemic, assuming I will, knowing I didn't do my best to tell people a way for them to easily help themselves. It would be like not yelling fire in a movie theater. I'm just communicating what I know. You do what you want with the information.

But get the hell out of the burning theater while you decide.

Here are some links to more information about UV-C .

Ted Talk on the subject:
https://www.ted.com/talks/david_brenner_a_new_weapon_in_the_fight_against_superbugs?fbclid=IwAR3lgW0h219akPgwG9m-4CHXWIviT-LLq0jveDxn7cQGQQa5XYzDlO6wYWc#t-50642

Link to reference articles:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2020/04/02/these-uv-sanitizers-can-kill-off-bacteria-and-viruses-including-the-coronavirus-that-caused-covid-19/#77be190c6b03
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324284
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/01/could-ultraviolet-lamps-slow-spread-flu
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-ultraviolet-ligh/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3831650/?fbclid=IwAR0KLQKdNeVri0Lv0V55SKKovYhPilSD21wXuEYv3tKn4Mx5zY8m_1u07Ps

Other:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1903/finsen/biographical/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/cdc-coronavirus-survived-in-princess-cruise-cabins-up-to-17-days-after-passengers-left.html?fbclid=IwAR3CNrCFK9wAkYmV4xBzRqiUWggpbaR-4OWh3wU0lSQBcDNuZg80sLtVB-c

Are you sure? yes | no

Josh Starnes wrote 07/01/2020 at 00:16

@ Chris, Yes it has already been confirmed COVID-19 is killed by UVC light.

Are you sure? yes | no

Jarrett wrote 04/02/2020 at 21:31

There are a lot of really dangerous things in this post...

Among them the implication that this would be effective at COVID-19 transmission

Are you sure? yes | no

Daren Schwenke wrote 04/03/2020 at 05:06

Yeah. I liked this until I saw the claims portion. Perhaps if it was more clear that this was done for humor and not to be serious, all would be well.

<EDIT>For the same reason this is effective at destroying most microbial life, humans without full body protection should not be waving it around. When used for disinfection purposes, the UV-C is contained. Humans are most certainly not in container or room.

That being said, I did enjoy the imagery you conjured up with your writing style.

I just think you need to be careful of those who may take you literally and while attempting to eradicate a virus that may or may not be there, give themselves skin cancer, permanent cornea damage, electrocute themselves, etc. The startup voltage of these tubes can be 1k volts before they conduct. Regards.</EDIT>

Are you sure? yes | no

Chris.Hicks wrote 04/04/2020 at 16:28

These are all very good points. Skin exposure to this UV-C light should most certainly be avoided. Exposure from this light could lead to skin cancer as well as premature aging. Also lack of proper UV eye protection could lead to cataracts or other eye disease. And this light does pose a high voltage risk related to its fluorescent bulb, And it contains mercury like other fluorescent bulbs. I would urge anyone using these to take the necessary precautions before turning one of these on. Anything with DNA or RNA exposed is at risk of damage from this light. Plants, mammals including humans possibly other animal or fungus or even certain types of plastics should be covered or removed from the room this is being used in.

Thanks for your feedback Daren.

Chris

Are you sure? yes | no

Ultraviolet Lightsaber. Kill COVID-19 with Style.

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