Abstract
In today’s medical society, The American Cancer Society are in constant research of a cure for skin cancer. Most of their research comes from the data collected from UV rays. Our project’s goal was to measure the levels of UV ray intensities at different locations to determine if skin damage could occur. For the project, we mainly relied on the SL01 chip to measure the amount of UVA and UVB rays throughout the day. We collected data at three points of the day, 9am 12pm and 3pm, also at different locations on the campus for 5-minute intervals. From our data, it showed that the best time to do outdoor activities were in the morning or in the evening. Pendergast, UV rays are the strongest between 10 AM and 4 PM. Our results supported this claim, for the UV index was low at 9 AM, peaked at 12 PM, and went back down at 3 PM. Pendergast also supports our claim when he says, “if you need to be outdoors during the day, for example, to get exercise or maintain a garden, you might want to schedule these activities for the early morning or late afternoon”. (Pendergast, 2018)
Introduction
Ultraviolet rays are defined as invisible rays coming from the sun that could burn skin or cause cancer (Cunha). Therefore, our project’s goal was to test the UV intensities at three points of the day in hopes of determining if the different UV levels correlated with the time of day. Further research could find that UV levels at certain times of day could cause a certain amount of damage to human beings. During this project we mainly relied on the SL01 chip to help determine the levels of UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays age skin cells and may cause skin cancer; UVB rays are a stronger type of rays that will directly damage skins and can cause skin cancer (The American Cancer Society, 2017). Engineers face the problem of determining if being exposed to UV rays at certain parts of the day and in different locations could result to higher UV exposure and lead to skin cancers. Thus, giving us the challenge of recording data at 9am, 12pm, and 3pm and on different parts of the campus over the span of three days to compare the levels of UV.
Methods
When beginning the experiment, the materials for experimentation were collected. A sensor with a USB attachment (IP01 xChips, Xinabox, Cape Town, South Africa) was used to connect the chips to a laptop. A sensor with a display screen (OD01 xChips, Xinabox, Cape Town, South Africa) was used to show collected data values at an instant. A sensor capable of connecting the chips to WIFI (CW01 xChips, Xinabox, Cape Town, South Africa) was used to send the data to the Space Data Dashboard. A sensor capable of measuring UVA, UVB, and Visible light (SL01 xChips, Xinabox, Cape Town, South Africa) was used to observe the levels of UVA & UVB ray intensity.
The chips were connected and then the IP01 chip was inserted into the USB port of a laptop. The switches on the IP01 chip were set to the B and DCE settings if the model has switches. The USB Driver file was used to allow communication between the computer and the IP01 chip. The next program to initiate was the Xinabox Flash Tool which was used to program the CW01 chip to collect the data from the different sensors and send the data to the Space Data Dashboard. The next step in the experimental setup was the configuration of the xChips. The computer was connected to the Wi-Fi network of the xChips and a Configuration window appeared. The device was named and different values such as Altitude, Longitude, and Latitude, were inputted into the window. The WIFI was then connected to a mobile hotspot or nearby WIFI network. This causes the display to light up with collected values.
The next step was data collection. The data was collected at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 3:00 PM over the span of three days. We chose these times based on an article written by Mark Pendergast, which stated that UV rays are the strongest between 10 AM and 4 PM. (Pendergast, 2018). My group tried to get data from days that had the most sunshine to get an accurate UV reading. Each data collection was taken in a five-minute interval. After all the data was collected, the spreadsheet was downloaded from the Space Data Dashboard. The data was edited using Microsoft excel (Microsoft Office, Redmond, Washington). The averages for each time were calculated for each day. The equation that was used to find the averages was: (Sum of values)/ (# of values). The averages were then used to create a plot of the correlation between the time of day and the intensity of the UV rays for all three days.
Results
The average UVA intensity from December 4th -7th ranged from -0.64706 (mW/m^2) – 2514.2 (mW/m^2). (Table 1). It was found that the UVA intensity peaked at 12:00 PM on days of sunny weather. The day that was not peaked at 12 PM was a day of cloudy weather. (Figure 1). Through analysis of Table 1 and Figure 1, it was found that the UVA ray intensity was often highest at 12 PM and reached its lowest at 9 AM & 3 PM. It can be determined that the best times to do outdoor activities to prevent higher UVA ray exposure would be in the morning and late afternoon. It can also be determined that cloudy days are better for the least amount of UVA ray exposure.
The average UVB intensity from December 4th -7th ranged from 18.82352941 (mW/m^2) – 8236 (mW/m^2). (Table 2). It was found that the UVB intensity peaked at 12:00 PM on days of sunny weather. The day that was not peaked at 12 PM was a day of cloudy weather. (Figure 2). Through analysis of Table 2 and Figure 2, it was found that the UVB ray intensity was often highest at 12 PM and reached its lowest at 9 AM & 3 PM. It can be determined that the best times to do outdoor activities to prevent higher UVB ray exposure would be in the morning and late afternoon. It can also be determined that cloudy days are optimal for the least amount of UVB ray exposure.
Discussion
The purpose of this experiment was to observe the correlation between the time of day and the intensity of UV rays. This was important to understand at which times of day would be best to conduct outdoor activities in order to avoid high UV ray exposure.
In the following assignment, my group was able to gather data that showed the strength of UV rays at certain times of day. Our data showed that the best time of day to perform outdoor activities, with regards to UV rays, is either in the morning or in the evening. According to Mark Pendergast, UV rays are the strongest between 10 AM and 4 PM. Our results supported this claim, for the UV index was low at 9 AM, peaked at 12 PM, and went back down at 3 PM. Pendergast also supports our claim when he says, “if you need to be outdoors during the day, for example, to get exercise or maintain a garden, you might want to schedule these activities for the early morning or late afternoon” (Pendergast, 2018). Although the activity went smoothly, in the future I would give more time for students to work on this project so that they can fix all technical difficulties and still have a week or so to collect data, and another week to write the summary.
