Two of the types of ultraviolet light, UVB and UVC, are both components of sunlight. Their wavelengths range from 280 to 320 nm for UVB and from 100 to 280 nm for UVC. Compare the energy of microwaves, UVB, and UVC.

The electromagnetic radiation produced from the sun has different wavelengths and frequencies. The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum refers to a broad range of wavelengths and is divided into radio waves, microwaves, infrared (IR), visible light, ultraviolet (UV), X-rays and gamma-rays based on their frequency or wavelength.

The spectrum begins with radio waves (the long wavelength or low-frequency region of the spectrum), then microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and ends with gamma rays (the short wavelength or high-frequency region of the spectrum). It is known that the wavelength and energy of a photon are inversely proportional, so the shortest wavelength photon has the highest energy.

The ultraviolet (UV) radiation has a wavelength from 10 nm to 400 nm. The two sub-bands of UV radiation are UVB (280–315 nm) and UVC (180–280 nm). When comparing the wavelengths of UVB and UVC, the UVC has the shortest wavelength and thus has the highest energy.

Microwaves are used in wireless networks, satellite and spacecraft communication, remote sensing, microwave ovens, etc. The wavelength of microwaves ranges from about 1 m to 1 mm. So when comparing the wavelengths of UV radiation and microwaves, the microwaves have the longest wavelength and thus have the lowest energy.

Hence, the energy of UVC > energy of UVB > energy of microwaves.