Modern day technologies

Many would agree that the modern age and advancement in technologies began with the Industrial revolution and the discovery of the steam engine, electricity and the changes in manufacturing processes. Modern technologies and systems contributed to overall increase of population in the world and improvements in the quality of our lives. But modern technologies can sometimes do more damage than good. A perfect example would be a mobile technology, the one that we use on a daily basis to communicate with each other, whether through mobile phones or our WiFi routers at home. During the course of operation, mobile technologies emit electromagnetic (radiation) fields which may be harmful to living world.

In this article we’ll try to give a brief explanation of the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) and what are the main sources of EMF in our immediate vicinity.

What is Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy created when an electron is accelerated by an electric field, causing it to move producing oscillating electric and magnetic disturbance. The created waves have certain characteristics, like wavelength and frequency.

A wavelength represents a distance between two successive peaks of a wave. Frequency is the number of cycles in a specific length of time. It is measured as the number of wave cycles per second, or hertz (Hz).

Electromagnetic waves are formed when an electric field (shown in red arrows) couples with a magnetic field (shown in blue arrows).
(Image credit: NOAA.)

The first theoretical results on electromagnetic waves date back to the 19th century when the electromagnetic waves were discovered. Scottish scientist James Clerk Maxwell noticed that magnetic and electrical fields bond together in order to form electromagnetic waves. He formed his own electromagnetic theory of light, in which he claimed that both light and radio waves are nothing else but electric and magnetic phenomenon (James Maxwell 1864).

James Clerk Maxwell

But it was his German college physicist Hertz who categorically confirmed and proved the existence of electromagnetic waves (Heinrich Rudolf Hertz 1879). Hertz created ways to measure the wavelength and during this process he discovered radio waves and that those radio waves act in the same way as the light.

He apparently did not realize the importance of his experiments with radio waves and stated the following:

“It’s of no use whatsoever[…] this is just an experiment that proves Maestro Maxwell was right—we just have these mysterious electromagnetic waves that we cannot see with the naked eye. But they are there.”

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

Electromagnetic radiation was classified by the World Wellbeing Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO IARC 2011) as being possibly human cancerogenic. This type of radiation is emitted by antenna base stations, mobile phones etc.

Electromagnetic spectrum

With the increase of a wave’s wavelength the frequency decreases, and vice versa, as the frequency increases as wave’s wavelength decreases. The electromagnetic radiation is grouped into categories depending on their wavelength or frequency. These categories are known as the electromagnetic spectrum. Most of it is invisible to humans either because they are too long or too short (too big or too small for the naked eye). 

There are 7 different types of electromagnetic radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum and those are radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays. The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that we can see is known as the visible light spectrum.

We are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation, from different sources, whether at home, at work or wherever. Some of the major electromagnetic radiation sources are mobile phones, microwave ovens, Wi-Fi routers, mobile base stations etc.

Mobile phones
Mobile phones are considered to be one of the top main sources of EM radiation. Most of us keep our mobile phones in our proximity, very close to our bodies, almost throughout the entire day. Also, mobile phones emit a strong electromagnetic field, especially when operational. The majority of us don’t even realize the extent of our exposure to mobile phones and electromagnetic radiation. Mobile phones use radio frequency to operate and if this frequency is high enough, it has a ‘thermal’ effect, which means that the use of mobile phones can raise body temperature. Excessive use of mobile phones could cause health concerns such as migraines or even brain tumors. This is something we need to reiterate as being a very important matter.

Microwave ovens
These types of ovens use microwaves that are powerful enough to cook food. Microwaves are radio waves of high frequency and are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We use microwaves in military (air and sea radar navigation), TV broadcasting and various forms of telecommunications. Microwaves are also used in medical waste processing, in medicine for diathermy treatment and in our homes for processing/cooking food.

Microwaves in our microwave ovens are generated by an electronic tube called a magnetron. When we turned the oven on, the microwaves from magnetron spread out throughout the oven cavity, then reflected by the metal sides of the oven cavity and absorbed by the food in the center. The food gets warmer when the water molecules inside food absorb microwave energy, generating friction which results in heating that cooks our food.

Wi-Fi routers
Internet became a necessity a long time ago and being hardwired to desktop computers is just a thing of the distant past. Without Wi-Fi routers we cannot even imagine our lives nowadays. They simply make everything easier. The convenience of getting online from a coffee shop or from our living rooms, without being physically attached to an ethernet port in the wall comes at a price, and that price comes in the form of adverse effects of electromagnetic radiation. Wi-Fi routers emit

electromagnetic frequencies at low GHz frequencies (2.4GHz or 5GHz) and those pass through walls with ease, and have a fair distance reach. Most routers are not turned off at night, leaving us exposed 24/7 to electromagnetic radiation emitted by routers.

Also, for people living in apartment buildings, which is where the majority of Kosovo’s population resides, this represents a far greater risk because you won’t be in danger of electromagnetic radiation only from your personal Wi-Fi router but also from your neighbor’s routers and there are dozens of them.

Antenna base stations
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, mobile phones are a necessity and are much more convenient than landlines because of their portability, mobility and their multi-purpose usage. The popularity of mobile phones led

to an increase of number of antenna mobile stations. Mobile operators coverage depends on a network of antenna radio stations that provide service for mobile phones. Mobile network works in a way that antennas send and receive low powered radio signals, allowing the connection to the main telephone network.

The effects of radio frequency electromagnetic radiation from antenna base stations towers on the world around us is a subject widely discussed around the world. 

 

 

Literature review on EMF

Just like every other story, a story about electromagnetic radiation and its impact on humans and our environment has two sides.

On one side, numerous scientific experiments were conducted in order to prove impacts of electromagnetic radiation on biological processes but have failed to do so (Zach and Mayoh 1986, Hoskote, Kapdi and Joshi 2008, Mixson et al. 2009).

Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) states in their report that “a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk. To date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.”

There’s another classification of the American Cancer Society (ACS) stating that there could be some risk associated with cancer, but there are no strong evidence to support this claim and things need to be investigated further.

On the other hand there were numerous experiments that have managed to detect serious issues when it comes to biological effects of antennas (Levitt and Lai 2010) such as sleep disorders in humans (mOhler, Frei Braun-Fahrlander 2012) , fertility (Gye, Park 2012) , snails and their metabolism (Regoli et al. 2005), on biochemical processes of worker honey-bees (Kumar, Sangwan, Badotra, 2011), reproductive failure and birth defects (Brent et al. 1993).

Even the smallest amount of exposure to electromagnetic fields is proven to be harmful. A study conducted on rats in order to determine the EMF impact on small animals has proven that an exposure of 900MHz on rat brain lead to a rapid cellular molecular alterations (Bonnefont et al. 2004).

Many studies have examined the impact electromagnetic radiation has on the living world. One of the first test conducted was in relation with EEG (encephalogram). This is a test that detects electrical activities in our brains by using electrodes attached to our head/scalp. Anomalies were detected when humans were exposed to electromagnetic fields of just 0.00001 μW/m2 of strength (Brise 1978). Numerous other studies suggested a significant number of different symptoms of living beings when exposed to certain doses of electromagnetic radiation. A study (Bundyuk 1994) documented serious effects on mice immune system when exposed to EMF.

Human skin, acts as a protective barrier against the negative effects antenna base towers could have. But, there are studies that documented a specific changes in human skin because of the effects of electromagnetic radiation (Ozguner et al., 2004; Sanchez et al., 2006).

Conclusion

Technology advancements made our lives easier and improved its quality like never before in human history. Technology will certainly continue to advance but at what cost? The impact of technology on our health, especially of electromagnetic field (EMF), cannot be simply neglected. How far are we ready to go before technology becomes our master instead of our servant?

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