Science · 6 pages · 12 min
How sunscreen absorbs or scatters ultraviolet
Some ingredients absorb ultraviolet photons, and others scatter them before they reach the skin.
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From the opening
Sunscreen cuts the ultraviolet dose by absorbing those photons in added molecules or by scattering them from mineral particles. Either way the energy is spent in the film instead of in the cells under it. The opening covers molecules that absorb the photon, minerals that scatter and absorb, and why a gap in the film still burns.
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Inside
- Molecules that absorb the photon
- Minerals that scatter and absorb
- Why a gap in the film still burns
- What the protection factor compares
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Ultraviolet absorption by organic sunscreen filters
- Scattering and absorption by zinc oxide and titanium dioxide