View Single Post
Old 05-16-22, 10:17 PM
  #17  
Polaris OBark
ignominious poltroon
 
Polaris OBark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 4,056
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2245 Post(s)
Liked 3,449 Times in 1,808 Posts
UV penetrates clouds, but probably not the watch glass cover. The watch solar charger uses less energetic visible light; it will charge it up under an indoor light bulb. So it really won't work as a good proxy for UV solar exposure.

I use this EPA site: Link to Seattle version

Here, it is easiest just to avoid peak UV (between 11 am and 3 pm) if possible. I use long-sleeve jerseys and other physical blocks whenever possible.

I think the points people have raised about the variability of wrist position and angle with respect to incident sunlight are valid concerns. It might work better if the watch was on one of those handlebar mounts, but it probably would be more useful as an indication of total solar exposure.

The problem with photons is that there is no safe limit for exposure. One single UV photon is enough to dimerize two adjacent Thymines in your DNA, and if it hits the right ones, could cause a cancer-inducing mutation. So increased flux/lux/whatever is simply increasing the probability of a transforming event. There is no safe threshold below which you don't have to worry.

I always wear bike gloves, but had a skin cancer on my hand removed 10 years ago.
Polaris OBark is offline  
Likes For Polaris OBark: