Electromagnetic radiation EMR

I too was paranoid about high frequency non-ionising radiation from iPads and mobile phones so I bought all the meters and did quite a bit of testing. First off, a mobile phone gives out a massive amount of radiation when in use in comparison to an iPad (using wifi, didn't test a 3G) - although I wasn't particularly scientific in my testing I found a mobile gives out hundreds sometimes thousands times more than iPads. Also, your exposure is directly proportional to distance and drops quite dramatically when held even a meter from your head - you get a lot more from a bluetooth mouse albeit in short bursts.

There also seems to be a consensus that it is long terms exposure over months/years, particularly at night when you're asleep, that is the problem as this lowers the immune system leading to all sorts of problems.

What I would say, and this is only my opinion, is to restrict how much kids use the iPad when WIFI is on (3G might be more worrying as this is more like a mobile phone) and keep it at a distance from them. I'd also keep it in another room at night and switch of the wifi when possible.

Dynamicworm wrote:

There also seems to be a consensus that it is long terms exposure over months/years, particularly at night when you're asleep, that is the problem as this lowers the immune system leading to all sorts of problems.

I don't believe there is any such scientific consensus at all.

Sorry, let me clarify. The consensus amongst scientists who think there is a problem is that it doesn't cause cancer etc. directly but indirectly through a lowered immune system.

There are of course scientists who disagree including many who are sponsored by mobile phone companies themselves.

I suppose it's up to the individual to decide. The decision is much harder of course if your whole life revolves around wifi and mobile phones.

"your exposure is directly proportional to distance"

That's not true at all. Your exposure is proportional to the square of the distance. That is, if you double the distance, your exposure is only 1/4th of the original. The expert in the referred video, is anything but. "Look! That's voltage! That's amperage! That's frequency!" This guy has no idea of what he's talking about. Interestingly, the video is for voltage frequency from 20-1000Hz and RFI/EMF - what you're interested in - is in the gHz range. BT has linked an informative Apple document, and it should be required reading.

"I'll keep the foil hat" An excellent idea for some. Until the mid-1960s, tanker trucks carrying gas had to have chains attached to the rear axle. The belief was that the chain would be a method to ground the truck, preventing static electricity and the possibility of explosions. Unfortunately, as the chains were dragged across the road surface, they created sparks...and those caused several tanker explosions. The chains were later removed by federal mandate. I'm suggesting that some users attach chains to their ankles, along with their tin foil hats. You can't be too safe.

"Your exposure is directly proportional to the distance" is a normal person's way of saying "your exposure is proportional to the square of the distance" which is a pedantic and rather anal response.

How exactly can these not mean the same thing to the man in the street ?

The meters I use measure from 50Mhz rto 3.5Ghz which nicely accommodates the 2.4Ghz of wifi plus the range of mobiles..

I have another low frequency meter which measure 50Hz - this obviously doesn't pick up wifi or mobile radiation.

Dynamicworm wrote:

Sorry, let me clarify. The consensus amongst scientists who think there is a problem is that it doesn't cause cancer etc. directly but indirectly through a lowered immune system.

There are of course scientists who disagree including many who are sponsored by mobile phone companies themselves.

Not all scientists who disagree with your "consensus" are in the thrall of the mobile phone industry. To imply that is insulting to the scientific community.

This discussion will not be resolved in this forum...the scientific/medical community has been debating and will debate the effects of electromagnetic radiation for years without consensus. Levels necessary to induce biological changes are not understood. Doing so will take years. As with any carcinogin the affect is cummulative and in most cases takes years to reach a level that is clearly detrimental.

Deggie is right, there are no clear standards defining acceptable/detrimental levels of exposure.

As soon as one medical study comes out showing a clear affect, another comes out showing there is no clear affect.

Difficulties arise because some attempt to extrapolate known effects of ionizing radiation to suspected effects of radiofrequency radiation. We know in the health physics area that they are clearly not the same.

The effects of exposure to radiofrequency emmissions have been under study and review by the Amateur Radio Relay Leaque for many years. And there are no answeres to day, other than general guidelines to minimize one's exposure to direct microwave energy.

As much fun as it is to read some of these responses, the question is not going to be resolved here.

My theory on this is that humans evolved with the sun and earth's electromagnetic radiation fields so in some way are not affected by them as much as they should be. Man made fields, on the other hand, are a very recent artificial phenomenom and their effect on humans is not well understood yet.

There are apparently people who are very sensitive to these things and literally get severe headaches etc. if they come anywhere near an EMF. The majority of people obviously aren't visibly affected in the short term but assuming it does affect us all in a small way, who knows what the future will bring ?

On the other hand, not all old smokers die from lung cancer. When they started smoking, however, they were told smoking was harmless, good for them infact.

how about those of us who want to be cautious[especially for kids], i'd like to know which devices/cofigurations emit higher emf/rf/emr... would it be better for kids to type on ipad screen or on bluetooth keyboard in front of wifi ipad? how much more emissions from wireless mouse/keyboard? wired imac or wifi ipad?

I think that if you have wifi on either your iPad or iMac you're getting similar levels of EMR whatever keyboard you use unless you can sit a couple of metres from it. Bluetooth mice and keyboards also emit high EMR but in short bursts.

It's very easy to be paranoid about all this especially if you have the meters to detect EMR, which I do, but I have come to the conclusion that as long as you limit children's time on iPads etc with wifi on then it's probably not worth worrying about.

What I would do though is make sure the your router is not in your kids bedroom and if it is switch it off at night. Also, switch off the wifi on your iPad and iMac if they're in bedrooms etc. Also be aware that DECT phones actually give out considerably more EMR that wifi so don't have the base station anywhere near where you sleep.

I'm also very wary of mobile phones, which emit many hundreds of thousands times more EMR than any wifi.

Has anyone had any further thoughts on this issue? I am an iMac 27 mid-2011 user, and I am wondering if it emits significantly more EMR front the front than a standalone monitor of comparable specifications, even when wi-fi and bluetooth are turned off.

The strongest readings I get seem to register near the center of the display body with ~100 milligauss at a distance of ~6 inches from the screen. I am using an AlphaLab TriField Meter on the ‘magnetic 0-3’ setting for these readings. This appears to resemble the output I am measuring from my mobile phone while it is transmitting.

I am not sure exactly which electronics are located in that region, but I was wondering if anyone else saw a similar effect. I am not an expert by any means, but have recently been wondering if I should monitor levels of EMR activity in the house.

Dynamicworm wrote:

"Your exposure is directly proportional to the distance" is a normal person's way of saying "your exposure is proportional to the square of the distance" which is a pedantic and rather anal response.

How exactly can these not mean the same thing to the man in the street ?

The meters I use measure from 50Mhz rto 3.5Ghz which nicely accommodates the 2.4Ghz of wifi plus the range of mobiles..

I have another low frequency meter which measure 50Hz - this obviously doesn't pick up wifi or mobile radiation.

No. It's simply incorrect.

katsuu wrote:

Has anyone had any further thoughts on this issue? I am an iMac 27 mid-2011 user, and I am wondering if it emits significantly more EMR front the front than a standalone monitor of comparable specifications, even when wi-fi and bluetooth are turned off.

The strongest readings I get seem to register near the center of the display body with ~100 milligauss at a distance of ~6 inches from the screen. I am using an AlphaLab TriField Meter on the ‘magnetic 0-3’ setting for these readings. This appears to resemble the output I am measuring from my mobile phone while it is transmitting.

I am not sure exactly which electronics are located in that region, but I was wondering if anyone else saw a similar effect. I am not an expert by any means, but have recently been wondering if I should monitor levels of EMR activity in the house.

While you are at it, keep an eye out for aliens, Bigfoot, Sasquatch and Elvis.

I heard that smart meters are even worse than your cell phone. And they are on 24/7 unless you pay to opt out .

Dynamicworm wrote:

I too was paranoid about high frequency non-ionising radiation from iPads and mobile phones so I bought all the meters and did quite a bit of testing. First off, a mobile phone gives out a massive amount of radiation when in use in comparison to an iPad (using wifi, didn't test a 3G) - although I wasn't particularly scientific in my testing I found a mobile gives out hundreds sometimes thousands times more than iPads. Also, your exposure is directly proportional to distance and drops quite dramatically when held even a meter from your head - you get a lot more from a bluetooth mouse albeit in short bursts.

There also seems to be a consensus that it is long terms exposure over months/years, particularly at night when you're asleep, that is the problem as this lowers the immune system leading to all sorts of problems.

What I would say, and this is only my opinion, is to restrict how much kids use the iPad when WIFI is on (3G might be more worrying as this is more like a mobile phone) and keep it at a distance from them. I'd also keep it in another room at night and switch of the wifi when possible.