UV detection is a method of authenticating banknotes, documents and other valuables using ultraviolet light, a type of radiation that is invisible to the human eye under normal conditions. Genuine banknotes contain security features created by special inks or fibres that are only visible under this light. When UV light hits them, these elements, such as parts of images, text or tiny fibres embedded in the paper, begin to fluoresce, meaning they light up brightly in specific colours. The paper itself, which is what a real banknote is made of, does not react to UV light and remains dark. A counterfeit is often revealed in one of two ways. Either it is printed on regular commercial paper that contains optical brighteners, and therefore the entire surface of the paper glows, typically blue-white, under UV light. Or, on the other hand, it lacks the fluorescent protective elements altogether, so that when illuminated, nothing illuminates at all. This technology is therefore used to quickly make hidden elements visible and reveal deviations from the original.