Biological UV-B effect monitoring instrument and method

A biological UV-B effect monitor for assessing biological effects of solar UV-B radiation comprising:

• a first photodetector amplifier circuit responsive to solar radiation in the UV-B band for producing an output signal proportional to the weighted integral of the incident UV-B solar spectrum with said first photodetector response thus producing a UV-B output signal U(t) at each instant t;
• a second photodetector amplifier circuit responsive to solar radiation in the visible band for producing a second output signal proportional to the weighted integral of a portion of the incident visible solar spectrum with said second photodetector response thus producing a visible output signal V(t) at each instant t;
• a diffuser for integrating both diffuse and direct radiation entering said first and second photodetectors;
• a short wavelength blocking filter to prevent UV-B radiation from entering said second, visible spectrum, photodetector circuit;
• a microprocessor circuit for sampling values from said UV-B and visible output signals, U(t) and V(t), respectively, and creating a quotient by dividing said UV-B output signal by said visible output signal;
• at least one algorithm stored in said microprocessor for determining a biological effect as a function of said quotient;
• a program executable by said microprocessor for applying said algorithm to said measured quotient to determine the magnitude of said biological effect;
• and
• display means for reporting said biological effect.