The article we're spotlighting today is one regarding electromagnetic sickness symptoms as reported by Medical News Today. The link to the article can be found at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/30499.php.
It appears that people are asking more and more about the effects, both long term and short term, of electromagnetic radiation. While it is true that we have been exposed to this radiation for a number of years, rarely are any of us subjected to the zero-distance that laptops can require. Distance is a key factor in the strength of an electromagnetic signal. It's been long said that microwaves are dangerous and harmful to humans while running, but it's likely that you aren't pressing your face against the glass of the microwave for hours at a time while it's heating (if you are, stop!). Segue to a laptop: as the requirements of the average laptop user increase to accommodate faster browsing, streaming media, and demanding programs, the internal electronic components of the laptop increase as well. With the increase of electric draw to these components follow the naturally occuring increase in electromagnetic radiation. Couple that increase in EMF to a distance of zero inches from the body, and radiation exposure exceeds that of even the most powerful electronic devices in the average household.
People subjected to these fields are more and more frequently reporting feelings of lasting vibrations, burning skin, electrical current in the body, and general feelings of unwell-being, to name a few from the article. When the source of the field is removed, the feelings go away. This article also dives into an experiment in which a canary, subjected to EMF waves, stops singing and begins picking at irritations in its feathers. When the EMF signal was removed, the singing resumed and the feather picking stopped. The important question to ask here is, what irritations, noticeable or not, are occurring within the human body when subjected to the same exposure?
Another facet of this article points out that people are reporting physical effects of electromagnetic radiation, but no one is acknowledging these effects. Because science has not pinpointed the exact reason for these effects, or consistency from subject to subject, they are being denied in their entirety by governments and global organizations, like the World Health Organization (WHO).
The fact is, the general public doesn't need a stamp of approval by organizations and governments to understand the science behind the danger potentials (see the previous post, "What is Electromagnetic Radiation and How Can it be Dangerous?"). The general public needs to educate themselves about the risk that can exist and do what they can to mitigate that risk. We at HARApad advocate limiting exposure to strong electromagnetic fields at all costs, and when it's not possible, protect yourself with products designed to do so. Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, but it doesn't matter; the science of how EMF works is available, and now it's up to the consumer to decide if they want to take action with the knowledge that's been passed on to them.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
What is Electromagnetic Radiation and how can it be Dangerous?
There seems to be much question and uncertainty when it comes to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and how something that surrounds us that we don't feel can be a danger. EMF is a naturally occurring field present with any device carrying an electrical current. That means anything you plug into your wall has an EMF surrounding it. The picture below from Encyclopedia Brittanica shows how an electromagnetic field works.
This picture is the view of the cross section of a wire carrying an electrical current, including its surrounding electromagnetic field. The purple center is the current carrying wire itself, and the dotted lines around the outside show the naturally occurring electromagnetic field that rotates around the wire. The ring nearest the wire, or the innermost dotted line, carries the strongest field, while the purple ring furthest away from the center indicates where the field fades to almost zero. This field is in constant motion, rotating around the outside of the wire. The rotational direction of the EMF depends on which direction the current is traveling. Using this picture as an example, if the current were traveling away from you (or into the screen), the EMF rotation is clockwise, and vice versa. The distance from the center of the wire to that zero EMF ring depends on the strength of the current traveling through the wire.
Today's laptops have many wires inside its body, carrying current to all the components requiring power. This current in the wire is ever increasing to meet the increasing demands of laptop performance, for better web browsing, streaming media, and demanding programs. Thus, as the required current increases, so too does the EMF surrounding the wire. When a laptop is placed directly on the lap, the body is effectively placed within the EMF rings surrounding the current carrying wires inside the casing of the computer. Researchers recommend limiting exposure to these fields to 2 milliGauss (mG), which is the unit of measurement of EMF. Laptops today have been measured as high as 175 mG when running daily tasks, like a virus scan or a disk defragmenting program.
So there's an electromagnetic field surrounding wires....how is that dangerous? When we plug in our laptops, the electricity we use from our walls is alternating current. That is, the direction of the current in the wire changes back and forth, and therefore, the EMF rotation goes from clockwise to counterclockwise, back to clockwise, and so on. This back and forth motion creates a vibration in the tissues of the body that are within reach of the EMF.
It is this vibration that is of concern to researchers for two reasons: Heat and mutation. This vibration principle is the very idea of how a microwave works; as the object is vibrated by the microwave, molecules rub together and heat, very much like rubbing cold hands together to warm them up. EMF vibrates cells, and heats them to create a temperature condition they cannot survive under for long periods of time. The temperature generation is especially of concern, due to the temperature sensitive conditions of fertility and conception in both males and females. More information about the temperature sensitivity of fertility can be found here: http://www.malecontraceptives.org/methods/heat_biology.php
The second concern to researchers is mutation. In laboratory studies, cells have been observed to mutate under constant vibration situations. Cancer is simply a cell mutating from a healthy cell into a cancerous cell, though the specific cause for this mutation is yet undetermined, and EMF has long been a topic of suspicion. Cellular mutation is discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation
The science of EMF and how it relates to current is a complex one, and the explanation listed above is a brief description of how EMF works and what it means to the average person using electronics on a regular basis.
Today's laptops have many wires inside its body, carrying current to all the components requiring power. This current in the wire is ever increasing to meet the increasing demands of laptop performance, for better web browsing, streaming media, and demanding programs. Thus, as the required current increases, so too does the EMF surrounding the wire. When a laptop is placed directly on the lap, the body is effectively placed within the EMF rings surrounding the current carrying wires inside the casing of the computer. Researchers recommend limiting exposure to these fields to 2 milliGauss (mG), which is the unit of measurement of EMF. Laptops today have been measured as high as 175 mG when running daily tasks, like a virus scan or a disk defragmenting program.
So there's an electromagnetic field surrounding wires....how is that dangerous? When we plug in our laptops, the electricity we use from our walls is alternating current. That is, the direction of the current in the wire changes back and forth, and therefore, the EMF rotation goes from clockwise to counterclockwise, back to clockwise, and so on. This back and forth motion creates a vibration in the tissues of the body that are within reach of the EMF.
It is this vibration that is of concern to researchers for two reasons: Heat and mutation. This vibration principle is the very idea of how a microwave works; as the object is vibrated by the microwave, molecules rub together and heat, very much like rubbing cold hands together to warm them up. EMF vibrates cells, and heats them to create a temperature condition they cannot survive under for long periods of time. The temperature generation is especially of concern, due to the temperature sensitive conditions of fertility and conception in both males and females. More information about the temperature sensitivity of fertility can be found here: http://www.malecontraceptives.org/methods/heat_biology.php
The second concern to researchers is mutation. In laboratory studies, cells have been observed to mutate under constant vibration situations. Cancer is simply a cell mutating from a healthy cell into a cancerous cell, though the specific cause for this mutation is yet undetermined, and EMF has long been a topic of suspicion. Cellular mutation is discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation
The science of EMF and how it relates to current is a complex one, and the explanation listed above is a brief description of how EMF works and what it means to the average person using electronics on a regular basis.
Welcome to the HARAblog!!
We at HARApad, LLC are hoping to bring awareness to the health risks of exposure to electromagnetic fields, most notably those from laptop computers. It will be in this blog that we will spotlight articles and research by professionals, and also highlight some of the concerns that the general public are voicing. We will use our extensive research on this subject to shed light on a rarely discussed topic, and lend tips and suggestions to minimize associated risks.
Be sure to check back for weekly posts about this hot topic!!
HARApad
Be sure to check back for weekly posts about this hot topic!!
HARApad
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