“The millimeter waves have the ability to disinfect a surface very quickly,” said molecular biologist Dr Gabi Gerlitz, who led the study.

Researchers at Ariel University in Samaria have discovered that a special form of radiation known as millimeter waves can kill 99% of corona and polio viruses from surfaces within two seconds, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“Our laboratory focuses on electromagnetic radiation sources,” said Prof. Moshe Einat from the Department of Electrical Engineering and a co-author of the study recently published in the journal Environmental Chemistry Letters.

“This type of radiation operates in the millimeter-wave regime, which means that they have a wavelength of about three millimeters. Just for comparison, the radiation from a cellphone has a wavelength of about 30 centimeters, and that from a microwave of about 12 centimeters,” he explained.

“The radiation caused a very rapid heating of the viruses, which led to their destruction, like the holes seen in the image of the corona virus. The very rapid heating to high temperature, was very focused and did not harm the immediate environment,” Merav Kalid-Lerner told Kan News on behalf of a university spokesperson.

“The millimeter waves have the ability to disinfect a surface very quickly,” said molecular biologist Dr Gabi Gerlitz, who led the study.

“Other methods currently used for this purpose, like UV radiation, take minutes and sometimes even a full hour, and in addition, they might be toxic for humans, which makes the disinfection process very impractical,” he said, the Post reported. “With our technique, we have cleared almost 99.9% of the virus within two seconds.”

The researchers are also studying how the technique could be used to disinfect water.

“Water contamination is a worldwide problem,” said Garlitz, according to the Post. “We think that this could offer a solution for it.”