Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health

Wired magazine has a great article on the dangers of cell phone radiation.  Mind you, this is close-proximity exposure.  Christopher Ketcham went on to say:

It’s hard to talk about the dangers of cell-phone radiation without sounding like a conspiracy theorist. This is especially true in the United States, where non-industry-funded studies are rare, where legislation protecting the wireless industry from legal challenges has long been in place, and where our lives have been so thoroughly integrated with wireless technology that to suggest it might be a problem—maybe, eventually, a very big public-health problem—is like saying our shoes might be killing us.

Being a Ham Radio operator, I’ve been wary of cell phones since day one.  To become an Amateur Radio Operator, you have to study and pass a test.  If you want to increase your operating privileges, you are required to study and then test for these increased privileges.  A basic and important part of our knowledge revolves around RF Radiation and Electromagnetic Field Safety.

We have basic guidelines and tools to evaluate our stations for compliance with the FCC’s RF exposure guidelines.  Has this ever been discussed or provided for cell phone users?

Yes, the RF power levels are less than your average amateur radio handie-talkie, but instead of the device (your walkie talkie) radiating at 144 mhz or 440mhz, you are holding a device (your cell phone) against your head that is radiating in the microwave range. That’s right, in my opinion, you essentially have a little microwave oven right against your face.

Still not convinced?  Let’s take a peek at the frequencies involved.

Cell Phone Frequencies

GSM usually operates in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz bands.
TMobile is reported to use 1700 MHz and 2100 Mhz.

Microwave Oven Frequencies

The Microwave Oven in your kitchen usually uses:  2450 MHz.
Commercial Microwave Ovens usually operate around 915 MHz.

Still not sure why this matters to you?  Let’s review how a Microwave Oven works: (From Wikipedia)

A microwave oven works by passing non-ionizing microwave radiation, usually at a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz (GHz)—a wavelength of 122 millimetres (4.80 in)—through the food. Microwave radiation is between common radio and infrared frequencies. Water, fat, and other substances in the food absorb energydielectric heating. Many molecules (such as those of water) are electric dipoles, meaning that they have a positive charge at one end and a negative charge at the other, and therefore rotate as they try to align themselves with the alternating electric field of the microwaves. This molecular movement represents heat which is then dispersed as the rotating molecules hit other molecules and put them into motion.

Sounds like a great way to stimulate the old brain flesh and agitate yourself a home-grown tumor.

Related posts:

1. Listening to CNBC Can Be Hazardous to your Financial Health
2. UK Health System in the Toilet (literally)