2006-06-26 05:12:04 · 3 answers · asked by diwata1102 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
UV rays should have no effect on stainless steel.
2006-06-26 05:19:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ultraviolet light is ionizing radiation, so I suppose over a very long time, it might cause some weakening of the metal by speeding up oxidation of the surface metal (if an atom absorbs the UV light, one of its orbital electrons may become excited, giving it more energy to potentially react with something, or if the energy is high enough, it may undergo a photoelectric effect and escape the atom entirely, leaving a metal ion behind that might alter the crystal lattice and weaken the metal... usually requires something on an X-ray or gamma ray level of energy, but hey, stranger things have happened)
Generally, however, I think that the steel would rust on its own long before UV rays caused significant damage through any means (yes, stainless steel does rust, just much much slower than regular carbon steel)
2006-06-26 05:21:49 · answer #2 · answered by theyuks 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
UV rays do not affect stainless steel.
2006-06-26 06:08:15 · answer #3 · answered by BeStill 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋