Editing Germicidal lamp (section)

==Uses==
{{further|Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation}}
Germicidal lamps are used to sterilize workspaces and tools used in biology laboratories and medical facilities. If the quartz envelope transmits shorter wavelengths, such as the 185 nm mercury emission line, they can also be used wherever [[ozone]] is desired, for example, in the sanitizing systems of [[hot tub]]s and [[aquarium]]s. They are also used by [[geologist]]s to provoke fluorescence in [[mineral]] samples, aiding in their identification. In this application, the light produced by the lamp is usually [[filter (optics)|filtered]] to remove as much visible light as possible, leaving just the UV light. Germicidal lamps are also used in waste water treatment in order to kill microorganisms.

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Weltronik EPROM eraser-8054.jpg
| alt1              = EPROM eraser
| caption1          = EPROM eraser
| image2            = Eprom.jpg
| alt2              = An EPROM. The small quartz window allows UV light to enter during erasure.
| caption2          = An EPROM. The small quartz window allows UV light to enter during erasure.
}}

The light produced by germicidal lamps is also used to erase [[EPROM]]s; the ultraviolet photons are sufficiently energetic to allow the electrons trapped on the [[field effect transistor|transistors']] [[floating-gate transistor|floating gates]] to tunnel through the gate insulation, eventually removing the stored charge that represents binary ones and zeroes.