Fried Brains

alleepally

Was listening to something on the Radio the other day on the issue of radiation and mobile phones. Not a new topic but the point made was that all the mobile operators have departments dealing with the issue of radiation on the phones and that they do treat it seriously. I know if I'm on a call for a while, my ear does get very hot. So just posting a poll to see do people think about the health effects of using a mobile phone.

Jammer

hold ur hand up to ur ear, it will get hot

alleepally

C'mon be serious. So you've never been on a long call and felt your ear fry? I can spend a long time on a landline and my ear doesn't burn.

whizzbang

mobiles tend to be smaller than land lines so you hand is a few inches nearer to your head. I've never felt my brain "fried" like you said!

leeroybrown

Firstly, the raidiation given off by a mobile phone is "non-ionizing radiation", meaning that it is unable to cause any chamical change to anything. The issue with mobile phones is that prolonged exposure can cause heating effects which may cause damage to the brain.

I don't worry about mobile phone radiation as I'm a low usage customer. If I were a very high usage customer then I'd probably be looking for a way to reduce/minimise my exposure.

As for the "my ear feels hotter" thing. If you held a mars bar (or a dead squirell for that matter) against the side of your head for ten minutes you'd have the same heating effect. In fact you'd probably notice it more beacuse you weren't conversing. The kind of heating effects researchers worry about are small (probably unoticable) changes in temperature that may cause damage over years of heavy usage.

As for hands free kits. I'm not that sure I like the idea of attaching a wire to my phone that allows me to leave it strapped to my belt transmitting at full power in close proximity to my testicles.

Also, beware of anything that claims to shield the phones radiation from you. GSM phones are designed to transmit at the lowest possible power level to make the call. The phone (in negotiation with the network) will automatically ramp up the transmission power in response (and radiation) to a signal weakening caused by some form of shield.

whizzbang

you tell 'em leeroy!




thats interesting about the radiation shield though, never thought of the phone upping the power to compensate.

alleepally

Well, it will be another 5 years before any conclusions can be reached about the issue.

Leeroy and Whizzbang - look for a comedy slot somewhere.

Rabies

Not pushed about it really. Doesn't bother me. I noticed some heat back in '98 with my first mobile (088). But those phones were crap compared to todays models.

whizzbang

So will this be the next big health risk like smoking was 50 years ago? Will we look back on photos of people using mobiles with a "didn't they know what they were doing to themselves" frame of mind?



I think we all have a notion that mobile could be bad for us but until someone proves it we aren't going to give up the convience?

tuxy

mobiles are the most anoying things ever
ban them i say

Stark

The "headset" option on the poll is rediculous as the headset "funnels" more radiation into your brain.

There's no hard evidence that the radiation damages your brain, although judging from the state of Veronica Guerin's brain (she spent all day on the mobile), I'd be cautious. I only use my mobile for 2 minutes max a day (if at all) so I'm not too worried.

alleepally

'The "headset" option on the poll is rediculous as the headset "funnels" more radiation into your brain. '

Well that's certainly a new one to me. I always thought the opposite. Holy crap.

Rabies

Originally posted by k.oriordan
The "headset" option on the poll is rediculous as the headset "funnels" more radiation into your brain.

Can't see how that is true, especially if a person is using a bluetooth enabled phone. Leave your phone in your hand, on a table, in your wellies, where ever i don't care. Its only what ever signal bluethooth transmits is sent to the ear piece, not radiation.

whizzbang

Originally posted by Rabies
Can't see how that is true, especially if a person is using a bluetooth enabled phone. Leave your phone in your hand, on a table, in your wellies, where ever i don't care. Its only what ever signal bluethooth transmits is sent to the ear piece, not radiation.

who says bluetooths signals aren't bad for you? bluetooth signals and GSM signals are just different frequencies of radiation!

Stark

Ahright sorry, I was referring to the hands-free kits that are physically plugged into your phone.

Rabies

Originally posted by whizzbang
who says bluetooths signals aren't bad for you? bluetooth signals and GSM signals are just different frequencies of radiation!

link ?

whizzbang

Originally posted by Rabies
link ?

radiation is just light of different frequencies, GSM, Bluetooth, IR, Microwaves, visible light they are all just radiation...

I don't know if bluetooth radiation is bad for you or not, but it is worth questioning if bluetooth headsets are any better than wired headsets.

bp_me

I don't know if bluetooth radiation is bad for you or not, but it is worth questioning if bluetooth headsets are any better than wired headsets.

Bluetooth headsets work on a frequency of 2.4GHz, which is the same frequency as a microwave oven. While the power levels are way lower, it does raise some concern.

Also, in terms of radiation from mobile phones - any phone you buy will have its S.A.R. in the manual, and on the manufacturers website. Most are way below the max, however there is no standard way to measure the "Specific Absorbtion Rate", so these measurements should be taken with a pinch of salt.

WetDaddy

My theory on the "ear getting warm" thing has always been the fact that you have something pressed against your head for so long...

I don't use a hands-free kit, but for those who do: Does your leg / hip / wherever you keep your handset during calls get warm after a while? I'm guessing probably not, because it's not (usually) pressed against you.

On another point, as far as I know mobiles only "radiate" when you're on a call / when they're ringing / when they're communicating with the closest mast (you know when they interfere with speakers and then nothing happens).

They must also when you're texting, right? Like alot of Irish mobile owners, I use my mobile mostly for texting, spending an average 5mins per day at most making calls. So, would texting be just as "dangerous" if mobiles were really doing nasty stuff to our bodies?


-S

4Horsemen

Firstly, the radiation given off by a mobile phone is "non-ionizing radiation", meaning that it is unable to cause any chemical change to anything. The issue with mobile phones is that prolonged exposure can cause heating effects which may cause damage to the brain

This is not quite true. As a physicist I first had a similar opinion however after some critical thought and reserach into the complexities of human anatomy there seems to be other forces that can influence our biology. The conventional view is that the only way radio waves could damage a cell would be if they were energetic enough to break chemical bonds or heat the tissue, like microwaves. Yet the radiation given off by handsets is much too weak to produce either of these effects.

Recent research has focused on modelling the dielectric properties of cells. Water molecules have poles of positive and negative electric charge that are known to create attractive forces between cells, known as van der Waals forces.

These are normally extremely weak, typically around a billion-billionth of a newton. Using a highly simplified mathematical model of two red blood cells, it has been calculated what effect electromagnetic fields created by different frequencies of radiation would have on the forces.

It was found that the water molecules inside the cells attempt to align their positive and negative poles with the alternating field produced by the radiation. They all end up pointing in the same direction, and this strengthens the van der Waals forces.
According to calculated figures, in fields of 850 megahertz - around the frequency used by mobile phones - the attractive forces appear to leap to micronewton strength. That is a huge jump of around 11 orders of magnitude, and completely unexpected.

If this is confirmed experimentally it could form the basis of an explanation for tissue damage: stronger attractive forces between cells might make them clump together, for example, or cause blood vessels to contract.

So - this highlights the idea that electromagnetic radiation might act on cells by affecting the attractive forces between them rather than simply causing heat damage to tissue.

In closing, watch this space. It may be prudent to limit your exposure to mobile phone radiation. At the very least use a bluetooth headset.

Regards,

The 4Horsemen

4Horsemen

In regards to bluetooth headsets I believe they have a much lower power output (hence a shorter range) than a mobile handset. Any radiation/dielectric effects on tissue should be lessened.

4Horsemen

bp_me

For those of you worried about effects on tissue, check this out:

fonegear

Interesting, but im sure creates other problems