SchrodingersCat
macrumors newbie
Here's some scientific information for all of you regarding cell phones:
Cell phones do not emit IONIZING radiation. Ionization is the key, as that's what causes DNA damage which can cause the cell mutations which can "potentially" lead to cancer. The truth is we're exposed to ionizing radiation every day. Those of us who live in the mountains are exposed to more than those of us that live at sea level, all due to cosmic radiation. The amounts are small, and don't lead to an increased cancer risk however, which is why I'm careful to say "potentially". There is no ionizing radiation emitting from your cell phone. The radiation everyone is getting all worked up over isn't nearly of a high enough energy to cause the DNA mutations that lead to cancer. So if it's cancer you're worried about, it's not induced by your cell phone. Read up on cancer biology. That's all the information you need to rest your mind... and perhaps a basic understanding of physics wouldn't hurt either.
To add to that, since ionization is the only known mechanism whereby radiation of any sort could cause cancer, another concern is the heat produced by the cell phone. However, the heat produced at the depth of the brain would be only a fraction of a degree, which is less than the heating produced by exercise. No one is saying exercise causes brain cancer. The truth is RF radiation, and in fact anything below x-ray and gamma ray radiation for the most part (which means things such as microwave radiation and RF radiation) don't have enough energy to break the chemical bonds in the DNA to cause damage to cause cancer.
Of course this myth is scary, no one wants cancer. Cancer is elusive, most of us know someone who has had the unfortunate experience of suffering through cancer, and the prognosis for certain types, brain cancer in particular, can be very poor. Most of us also use cell phones. And those big bad power towers and cell towers seem to be popping up everywhere. However, this is not the result of a government conspiracy or cover up. The science behind this all explains away the fears. RF radiation is NOT causing cancer, in fact, it CANNOT cause cancer because it doesn't have enough energy. Period.
And one further clarification. The energy of radiation is NOT determined by the amount. It's determined by the type (x-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, radiofrequency waves, etc). SO even if you're right next to the biggest RF emitting tower in the world, the cumulative effect would not turn it into ionizing radiation.
Cell phones do not emit IONIZING radiation. Ionization is the key, as that's what causes DNA damage which can cause the cell mutations which can "potentially" lead to cancer. The truth is we're exposed to ionizing radiation every day. Those of us who live in the mountains are exposed to more than those of us that live at sea level, all due to cosmic radiation. The amounts are small, and don't lead to an increased cancer risk however, which is why I'm careful to say "potentially". There is no ionizing radiation emitting from your cell phone. The radiation everyone is getting all worked up over isn't nearly of a high enough energy to cause the DNA mutations that lead to cancer. So if it's cancer you're worried about, it's not induced by your cell phone. Read up on cancer biology. That's all the information you need to rest your mind... and perhaps a basic understanding of physics wouldn't hurt either.
To add to that, since ionization is the only known mechanism whereby radiation of any sort could cause cancer, another concern is the heat produced by the cell phone. However, the heat produced at the depth of the brain would be only a fraction of a degree, which is less than the heating produced by exercise. No one is saying exercise causes brain cancer. The truth is RF radiation, and in fact anything below x-ray and gamma ray radiation for the most part (which means things such as microwave radiation and RF radiation) don't have enough energy to break the chemical bonds in the DNA to cause damage to cause cancer.
Of course this myth is scary, no one wants cancer. Cancer is elusive, most of us know someone who has had the unfortunate experience of suffering through cancer, and the prognosis for certain types, brain cancer in particular, can be very poor. Most of us also use cell phones. And those big bad power towers and cell towers seem to be popping up everywhere. However, this is not the result of a government conspiracy or cover up. The science behind this all explains away the fears. RF radiation is NOT causing cancer, in fact, it CANNOT cause cancer because it doesn't have enough energy. Period.
And one further clarification. The energy of radiation is NOT determined by the amount. It's determined by the type (x-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, radiofrequency waves, etc). SO even if you're right next to the biggest RF emitting tower in the world, the cumulative effect would not turn it into ionizing radiation.