Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Sunlight shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Sunlight offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Sunlight at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Sunlight? Wrong! If the Sunlight is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Sunlight then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Sunlight? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Sunlight and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Sunlight wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Sunlight then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Sunlight site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Sunlight, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Sunlight, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
trees in Muir Woods
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total
spectroscopy of the
electromagnetic radiation given off by the
Sun. On Earth, sunlight is Filter (optics)ed through the
Earth's atmosphere, and the
solar radiation is obvious as daylight when the Sun is above the horizon. This is usually during the hours known as
day. Near the
geographical poles in summer, sunlight also occurs during the hours known as
night and in the winter at the poles sunlight may not occur at any time. When the direct radiation is not blocked by clouds, it is experienced as
sunshine, a combination of bright light and heat. Radiant heat directly produced by the radiation of the sun is different from the increase in atmospheric temperature due to the radiative heating of the atmosphere by the sun's radiation. Sunlight may be recorded using a sunshine recorder.
The World Meteorological Organization defines sunshine as direct irradiance from the Sun measured on the ground of at least 120
watt·
metre−2.
Direct sunlight gives about 93 lumen (unit)s of illumination per watt of electromagnetic power, including infrared,
visible light, and ultra-violet.
Sunlight is a key factor in the process of
photosynthesis
Life on Earth
The existence of nearly all
life on earth is fueled by light from the sun. Most autotrophs, such as plants, use the energy of sunlight to turn air into simple sugars—a process known as
photosynthesis. These sugars are then used as building blocks and in other synthetic pathways which allow the organism to grow.
Heterotrophs, such as animals, use light from the sun indirectly by consuming the products of autotrophs, either directly or by consuming other heterotrophs. The sugars and other molecular components produced by the autotrophs are then broken down, releasing stored solar energy, and giving the heterotroph the energy required for survival. This process is known as
Cellular respiration.
In prehistory, humans began to further extend this process by putting plant and animal materials to other uses. They used animal skins for warmth, for example, or wooden weapons to hunt. These skills allowed humans to harvest more of the sunlight than was possible through glycolysis alone, and human population began to grow.
During the Neolithic Revolution, the domestication of plants and animals further increased human access to solar energy. Fields devoted to crops were enriched by inedible plant matter, providing sugars and nutrients for future harvests. Animals which had previously only provided humans with meat and tools once they were killed were now used for labour throughout their lives, fueled by grasses inedible to humans.
The more recent discoveries of coal,
petroleum and
natural gas are modern extensions of this trend. These
fossil fuels are the remnants of ancient plant and animal matter, formed using energy from sunlight and then trapped within the earth for millions of years. Because the stored energy in these fossil fuels has accumulated over many millions of years, they have allowed modern humans to massively increase the production and consumption of
primary energy. As the amount of fossil fuel is large but finite, this cannot continue indefinitely, and various theories exist as to what will follow this stage of human civilization (e.g.
alternative fuels,
Malthusian catastrophe, new urbanism,
peak oil).
Cultural aspects
Many people find direct sunlight to be too bright for comfort, especially when reading from white paper upon which the sun is directly shining. Indeed, looking directly at the sun can cause permanent vision damage. To compensate for the brightness of sunlight, many people wear
sunglasses. Automobile, many
helmets and
caps are equipped with visors to block the sun from direct vision when the sun is at a low angle.
In colder countries many people prefer sunnier days and often avoid the
shade. In hotter countries the converse is true; during the midday hours many people prefer to stay inside to remain cool. If they do go outside, they seek shade which may be provided by trees, parasols, and so on.
Sunshine is often blocked from entering buildings through the use of window blinds, awnings,
Window shutters or
curtains.
===Sunbathing===Sunbathing is popular for the cosmetic and potential health benefits of a
sun tan, although there are also risks of cellular damage to the skin.
Sunbathing is a popular leisure activity in which a person sits or lies in direct sunshine. People often sunbathe in comfortable places where there is ample sunlight. Some common places for sunbathing include the beach, open air
swimming pools, the park, the garden, and
sidewalk (sidewalk)
cafés. Sunbathers typically wear limited amounts of clothing (such as swimsuits), go
topfree or simply go nude.
An alternative some use to sunbathing is to use a sunbed that generates
ultraviolet light and can be used indoors regardless of outdoor weather conditions and amount of sun light.
For many people with pale or brownish skin, an additional or primary purpose for sunbathing is to darken one's
skin color (get a sun tan) as this is considered in some cultures to be beautiful, associated with outdoor activity, vacations or
holidays, and health. Indeed, the body produces
vitamin D from sunlight (specifically from the UVB band of ultraviolet light), and excessive seclusion from the sun can lead to deficiency. An additional reason that some people prefer
nude sunbathing is that an "all-over" or "even" tan can be obtained.
Sun tanning is achieved by an increase in the dark
pigment inside skin cells called
melanocytes and it is actually an automatic response mechanism of the body to sufficient exposure to
ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial
sunlamps. Thus, the tan gradually disappears with time, when one is no longer exposed to these sources. The skin of darker-skinned people may represent an evolutionary advantage developed time ago in races living in
tropical areas, such as Africa.
Effects on health
While the production of vitamin D is good, it is important to note that excessive sunlight exposure has been linked to all types of skin cancer caused by the
ultraviolet part of radiation in sunlight and from sunlamps. Sunburns are mild to severe inflammation effects to the skin and can be avoided by using a proper
sunscreen cream or lotion or by gradually building up melanocytes over days and weeks of increasing exposure. Another detrimental effect of UV exposure is accelerated skin aging (also called skin photodamage), which produces a rather ugly and difficult to treat Aesthetics effect. The decrease in the atmosphere's ozone layer in the last decades is increasing the incidence of such health hazards and extra precautions should be taken by people who are exposed daily to strong sunlight. Excessive exposure to the sun can burn your skin and is not good.
A lack of sunlight, on the other hand, is considered one of the primary causes of seasonal affective disorder, a serious form of the "winter blues". SAD occurrence is noticed more prevalently the further away from the tropics the sample is taken, and most of the treatments (other than prescription drugs) involve replicating sunlight. This replication is done using lamps tuned to specific wavelengths of light or full-spectrum bulbs.
There are two further beneficial effects of sunlight. Firstly it upregulates the manufacture of vitamin D in humans when sunlight is incident upon skin surfaces. Secondly, the use of sunlight in lieu of artificial light to illuminate building interiors avoids certain adverse health effects of over-illumination by electric lights as well as promoting energy conservation.
See also
References
Thom Hartmann (1998). The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-82243-0.
trees in Muir Woods
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total
spectroscopy of the
electromagnetic radiation given off by the
Sun. On
Earth, sunlight is
Filter (optics)ed through the Earth's atmosphere, and the
solar radiation is obvious as
daylight when the Sun is above the horizon. This is usually during the hours known as
day. Near the
geographical poles in summer, sunlight also occurs during the hours known as
night and in the winter at the poles sunlight may not occur at any time. When the direct radiation is not blocked by clouds, it is experienced as
sunshine, a combination of bright light and heat.
Radiant heat directly produced by the radiation of the sun is different from the increase in atmospheric temperature due to the radiative heating of the atmosphere by the sun's radiation. Sunlight may be recorded using a sunshine recorder.
The World Meteorological Organization defines sunshine as direct irradiance from the Sun measured on the ground of at least 120
watt·
metre−2.
Direct sunlight gives about 93 lumen (unit)s of illumination per watt of electromagnetic power, including infrared,
visible light, and
ultra-violet.
Sunlight is a key factor in the process of
photosynthesis
Life on Earth
The existence of nearly all life on earth is fueled by light from the sun. Most
autotrophs, such as plants, use the energy of sunlight to turn air into simple sugars—a process known as photosynthesis. These sugars are then used as building blocks and in other synthetic pathways which allow the organism to grow.
Heterotrophs, such as animals, use light from the sun indirectly by consuming the products of autotrophs, either directly or by consuming other heterotrophs. The sugars and other molecular components produced by the autotrophs are then broken down, releasing stored solar energy, and giving the heterotroph the energy required for survival. This process is known as Cellular respiration.
In
prehistory, humans began to further extend this process by putting plant and animal materials to other uses. They used animal skins for warmth, for example, or wooden weapons to hunt. These skills allowed humans to harvest more of the sunlight than was possible through glycolysis alone, and human population began to grow.
During the
Neolithic Revolution, the domestication of plants and animals further increased human access to solar energy. Fields devoted to crops were enriched by inedible plant matter, providing sugars and nutrients for future harvests. Animals which had previously only provided humans with meat and tools once they were killed were now used for labour throughout their lives, fueled by
grasses inedible to humans.
The more recent discoveries of
coal, petroleum and
natural gas are modern extensions of this trend. These
fossil fuels are the remnants of ancient plant and animal matter, formed using energy from sunlight and then trapped within the earth for millions of years. Because the stored energy in these
fossil fuels has accumulated over many millions of years, they have allowed modern humans to massively increase the production and consumption of primary energy. As the amount of fossil fuel is large but finite, this cannot continue indefinitely, and various theories exist as to what will follow this stage of human civilization (e.g.
alternative fuels,
Malthusian catastrophe, new urbanism, peak oil).
Cultural aspects
Many people find direct sunlight to be too bright for comfort, especially when reading from white paper upon which the sun is directly shining. Indeed, looking directly at the sun can cause permanent vision damage. To compensate for the brightness of sunlight, many people wear sunglasses.
Automobile, many
helmets and caps are equipped with
visors to block the sun from direct vision when the sun is at a low angle.
In colder countries many people prefer sunnier days and often avoid the shade. In hotter countries the converse is true; during the midday hours many people prefer to stay inside to remain cool. If they do go outside, they seek shade which may be provided by trees,
parasols, and so on.
Sunshine is often blocked from entering buildings through the use of window blinds,
awnings, Window shutters or curtains.
===Sunbathing===Sunbathing is popular for the cosmetic and potential health benefits of a
sun tan, although there are also risks of cellular damage to the skin.
Sunbathing is a popular
leisure activity in which a person sits or lies in direct sunshine. People often sunbathe in comfortable places where there is ample sunlight. Some common places for sunbathing include the beach, open air
swimming pools, the park, the garden, and sidewalk (sidewalk) cafés. Sunbathers typically wear limited amounts of clothing (such as
swimsuits), go
topfree or simply go nude.
An alternative some use to sunbathing is to use a
sunbed that generates
ultraviolet light and can be used indoors regardless of outdoor weather conditions and amount of sun light.
For many people with pale or brownish skin, an additional or primary purpose for sunbathing is to darken one's
skin color (get a
sun tan) as this is considered in some cultures to be beautiful, associated with outdoor activity,
vacations or
holidays, and health. Indeed, the body produces
vitamin D from sunlight (specifically from the UVB band of ultraviolet light), and excessive seclusion from the sun can lead to deficiency. An additional reason that some people prefer
nude sunbathing is that an "all-over" or "even" tan can be obtained.
Sun tanning is achieved by an increase in the dark
pigment inside skin cells called
melanocytes and it is actually an automatic response mechanism of the body to sufficient exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial sunlamps. Thus, the tan gradually disappears with time, when one is no longer exposed to these sources. The skin of darker-skinned people may represent an evolutionary advantage developed time ago in races living in
tropical areas, such as Africa.
Effects on health
While the production of vitamin D is good, it is important to note that excessive sunlight exposure has been linked to all types of
skin cancer caused by the
ultraviolet part of radiation in sunlight and from sunlamps. Sunburns are mild to severe inflammation effects to the skin and can be avoided by using a proper sunscreen cream or lotion or by gradually building up melanocytes over days and weeks of increasing exposure. Another detrimental effect of UV exposure is accelerated skin aging (also called
skin photodamage), which produces a rather ugly and difficult to treat
Aesthetics effect. The decrease in the atmosphere's
ozone layer in the last decades is increasing the incidence of such health hazards and extra precautions should be taken by people who are exposed daily to strong sunlight. Excessive exposure to the sun can burn your skin and is not good.
A lack of sunlight, on the other hand, is considered one of the primary causes of
seasonal affective disorder, a serious form of the "winter blues". SAD occurrence is noticed more prevalently the further away from the tropics the sample is taken, and most of the treatments (other than prescription drugs) involve replicating sunlight. This replication is done using lamps tuned to specific wavelengths of light or full-spectrum bulbs.
There are two further beneficial effects of sunlight. Firstly it upregulates the manufacture of vitamin D in humans when sunlight is incident upon skin surfaces. Secondly, the use of sunlight in lieu of artificial light to illuminate building interiors avoids certain adverse health effects of over-illumination by electric lights as well as promoting energy conservation.
See also
References
Thom Hartmann (1998). The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-82243-0.
Sunlight Corporate
Supplier of textile rental and laundering services.
Sunlight Corporate
We will be happy to deal with any enquiries you have. A web form, address and telephone details are on the ...
Sunlight Development Trust
Sunlight Development Trust is a community owned and managed charitable organisation that works with partners across all sectors. We combine a mix of services aimed at everyone ...
Webmail | Sunlight Development Trust
If you are a member of staff click here to access your email
Home | Radio Sunlight
You've arrived at the online home of Radio Sunlight - a mad mix of community contributions broadcasting from the heart of Gillingham. We don't want you just to read the text so ...
Contact | Radio Sunlight
We welcome all feedback and suggestions. Please use the methods below to contact us.
Home | Sunlight Studios
Welcome to Sunlight Studios, a multi award-winning facility, which uniquely channels all of its income back into supporting communities. The studio is a modern purpose-built ...
Sunlight - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunlight, in the broad sense, is the total spectrum of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. On Earth, sunlight is filtered through the atmosphere, and the solar ...
Port Sunlight Village - Home
Information about the Heritage Centre and other attractions, including the Lady Lever Art Gallery and Hulme Hall. Includes a group booking form for the Heritage Centre.
PORT SUNLIGHT VILLAGE ONLINE COMMUNITY
A guide to the history, architecture and attractions of the village.
