The World in UV

UV cameras expose a hidden world and reveal the incompleteness of our perception

In summary, ultraviolet light interacts differently with matter for a number of reasons:
1. Some pigments selectively absorb UV so they may appear white in the visible but dark in the UV. The pigments usually dissipate the UV energy as heat, though the breaking of bonds can also occur.
2. Fluorescent molecules absorb UV light and re-radiate that energy as visible light. This makes them look dark in the UV but glowing under black light.
3. Ultraviolet light scatters more than visible light because the wavelength is shorter and Raleigh scattering is proportional to the reciprocal of wavelength to the power of four.

Special thanks to Patreon supporters:
Donal Botkin, Michael Krugman, Jeff Straathof, Zach Mueller, Ron Neal, Nathan Hansen, Yildiz Kabaran, Terrance Snow, Stan Presolski

References:

Overview of main UV effects:
Visualizing Rayleigh Scattering through UV Photography

Arctic animals are photographed in the UV to increase visibility and get an accurate count:
Lavigne, D. (1976). Counting Harp Seals with ultra-violet photography. Polar Record, 18(114), 269-277. doi:10.1017/S0032247400000310

"The spectroscopy of human melanin pigmentation," by N. Kollias. In: Melanin: Its Role in Human Photoprotection, pp. 31 - 38. Valdenmar Publishing Co. (1995).

"Optical properties of human sclera, and their consequences for transscleral laser applications," by A. Vogel, C. Dlugos, and R. Nuffer, Lasers in Surgery and Medicine 11(4), pp. 331 - 340 (1991).

"The incidence and time-course of latanoprost-induced iridial pigmentation as a function of eye color," by P. Wistrand, J. Stjernschantz, and K. Olsson, Survey of Ophthalmology 41(S2), pp. S129 - S138 (1997).

[EpicLPer]

6:00 - I always wondered how scientists flirt with each other... I guess that's a question answered now.
_"Your skin looks so good in the visible spectrum of the light"_

[Caracazz]

- Son, did you apply the sunscreen?
- ...yes, mom!
*turns on the UV camera*

[physicsgirl]

"How do I put this..." at 6:05. Nice Derek, nice.

[IAmSneak]

if you want to get rid of the fog just turn up your render distance

[FilliamPL]

*talking to a girl*
"You're so beautiful... just not in the UV spectrum"

[lordfeish]

that moment when you realize that sunscreen companies are secretly making you wear blackface

[samthachamp]

I wanna be as happy as he was when the soda started bubbling

[totallynoteverything.]

8:10 dude looks like he's covering himself in mud to not get detected in a covert mission in Nam

[Master_Therion]

Will enough UV exposure cause heavy damage to the skin? Or will it only cause... light damage?

[radicalxedward]

Sunscreen companies should do this as an ad. I would have been WAY more likely to use it as a kid if I could see that it actually does anything.

[crazylazybros]

buzzfeed: is putting on sunscreen blackface?

[dbell]

After losing the lens from one eye after surgery (and none was implanted), I discovered how much more I could see into the near UV. A common fluorescent "black Light" tube is barely visible in daylight with normal vision. With my "lensless" eye (and a contact), I could easily see a lighted tube as a purple-white glow from tens of feet away in full outdoor daylight.

[ErhanGaming]

In an alternate universe: 'The World in Visible Light" - "Why is visible light so clear compared to our normal hazy atmosphere?"

[htme]

Great video and thanks for the shout out! I was wondering why our UV footage at Death Valley was so hazy in the distance, now I know why!

[hoangtran]

do not, under any circumstances, shine uv light in a bedroom.

[davinci]

What I find particularly fascinating is that if we could see UV light we would most likely also see colours there. This would of course only be the case if we had multiple photoreceptors for different UV wavelengths but it is still quirky to think that colours are actually just illusions.

[nebvbn]

So sunscreen is basically... Paint? In the UV spectrum.

[mathewgonz]

So can we promote cellphones to incorporate this? Everyone could use this at the beach to make sure they’re covered properly

[Karabetter]

SOOO *OZONE* is supposed to block UV... An interesting experiment would be:
Set up an electric arc (which will normally create the "ozone smell") and see if there is a stream of ozone emanating in dark waves with your UV cam ???

[meldymakr]

it's hard to wrap my mind around birds being able to see in ultraviolet as well as normal color vision...