Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!netsys!vector!telecom-gateway From: xrtll!rsnider@nexus.yorku.ca Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Possible Cancer Risk from Cellular Phones? Message-ID: Date: 28 Mar 89 18:00:29 GMT Sender: news@vector.UUCP Reply-To: rsnider@xrtll.UUCP (Richard Snider) Organization: ISOTECH Computer Industries Lines: 48 Approved: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.uucp X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 114, message 3 of 3 In article miket@brspyr1.brs.com (Mike Trout) writes: >I recently had a discussion with a major electronics guru for a local >television station. We were talking about microwave transmitters (radar >speed guns, garage door openers, that sort of thing), when he made a dramatic >statement that shocked me: he claimed that cellular phones were extremely >hazardous and probably highly carcinogenic. >He claimed that the frequency wavelengths used for cellular phone radio >transmissions were just about equal to the diameter of the human brain cavity. >This, he claimed, accelerated by the fact that the receiver is always held up >against the human skull, sets up highly dangerous conditions within the human >brain. (Stuff deleted) >His co-workers seemed to share his >opinions; one of their technicians was severely injured some years back by >climbing on a transmission tower during a high-intensity transmission. >Is this nonsense, an urban myth, or is this actually a matter of risk? Getting out my handy dandy $2 calculator, I plug in the speed of light and divide it by the frequency emmited by cellular phones (Approx 800- 900 Mhz) and get the wavelegth of about 30 to 38 cm (about a foot). Now assuming that we set up some kind of reflector to set up standing waves we get about 6 inches. How close this is to the size of the brain cavity is unknown to me, but what I do know is that the bone in the skull is NOT a very good reflector of Electromagnetic waves in that part of the spectrum. If it was, then microwave ovens would have a difficult time cooking meats with bones in them since everything within 1/2 wavelength of the bones would be un-cooked. I have taken a few liberties here with my example as far as the frequency of microwaves compared to UHF waves, but for this example I think it is close enough. Now, as for getting injured by climbing a transmission tower. Well, personally I would never get too close to a light source being powered in the 70,000 watt (or greater) range and the same goes for Electromagnetic Transmission equipment. Most cellular phones operate in the 4-20 watt range, the low end being the very portable hand-held units. As for being frightened of Cellular Phones. Not me. Richard Snider ======================================================================== Where: ..uunet!mnetor!yunexus!xrtll!rsnider Also: rsnider@xrtll.UUCP "Hey ! Whats with all the blue lines on the RGB Monitor ???" "Ummm.....Looks like.....well....Ethernet!"