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From: irwin@m.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Power Lines Affect Computers??
Message-ID: <21000049@m.cs.uiuc.edu>
Date: 6 Dec 89 01:40:19 GMT
References: <213858@<1989Nov25>
Lines: 56
Nf-ID: #R:<1989Nov25:213858:m.cs.uiuc.edu:21000049:000:2344
Nf-From: m.cs.uiuc.edu!irwin    Dec  5 09:05:00 1989


/* Written 10:01 am  Dec  4, 1989 by marc@cpsc.ucalgary.ca in m.cs.uiuc.edu:sci.electronics */

In article <1989Nov25.213858.4811@mccc.uucp> root@mccc.uucp (Pete Holsberg) writes:
>I'm looking at a house that has power lines running at the rear edge of
>the property and I'm wondering if radiation of any kind from those lines
>might affect my computer, disks, whatever.  None of the people who live
>there now have 11 fingers or 3 eyes or even one computer.  Does anyone
>have any knowledge about the relative safety/danger of that environment
>to people and electronic devices?
>
>Thanks.
>
>-- 
>Pete Holsberg                UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh
>Mercer College               CompuServe: 70240,334
>1200 Old Trenton Road        GEnie: PJHOLSBERG
>Trenton, NJ 08690            Voice: 1-609-586-4800


+I've heard people asking this same question before (ie. do high voltage
+lines threaten health). I doubt it. The current flowing through the line
+is a.c., yes, and that means there's a constantly changing electric field.
+As you know, this means that the lines are giving off electromagnetic
+radiation. HOWEVER, in North America a.c. only alternates at 120 Hz. This
+means that the radiation being emitted is only 120 Hz. That is extremely
+LOW, and is probably not a threat to anyone. Mutations due to exposure to
+radiation are usually only found with much higher frequencies (ie. long
+term exposure to UV light, gamma radiation, etc..).

+I'd also guess that power lines can't harm your computer.

 
+  /\ _  _      \        iNet/Envoy : m.schroeder (org. id = kort)
+ (  / \/ \    / \       e-mail     : marc@cpsc.UCalgary.CA
+   /  /  /   /   \      Fidonet    : Marc Schroeder @ 1:134/47
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+ Marc A. Schroeder      * 1st year computer science
+                          University of Calgary
 
/* End of text from m.cs.uiuc.edu:sci.electronics */

AC in North America is <60 Hz>, not 120. (This seems to be real good
for keeping electric clocks on time)

Most nations have either 50 or 60 Hz, though I once lived in the Canal
Zone in Panama, where they had 25 Hz, and it was not too difficult to
detect the "movie projector flicker effect." First thing I did wrong
was to plug in my electric shaver and burn it up.

Al Irwin
Univ of Illinois
Dept of Comp Sci
irwin@m.cs.uiuc.edu