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Radiation poisoning from wireless...

U

umdjb

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 27, 2006
220
0
Washington D.C.
Hey,

I was wondering if wireless routers (namely the Airport Extreme Basestation) emits hazardous radiation? Should I be worried and place it a good distance from me?

Thanks!
 
These units - and others similar - don't emit "radiation" - they transmit high frequency signals through the air. Quite a difference - and I would say that you don't need to worry and living in the same room with it.
 
The base station does emit electromagnetic radiation (not the radioactive kind, thankfully), but no more I imagine than your cell phone, cordless phone, microwave, radio, TV, powerlines overhead, etc, etc. There is radiation all around us.
 
Think of all the talk radio poisoning your brain as you sleep!

*Runs for my faraday cage*
 
pseudobrit said:
Not unless you're assembling a critical mass core of some radioisotope inside.
Click to expand...

Radio waves radiate from their source and are therefore called radiation. The electromagnetic spectrum covers everything from UV to visible to infrared, so all those are radiation too.
 
tuartboy said:
Radio waves radiate from their source and are therefore called radiation. The electromagnetic spectrum covers everything from UV to visible to infrared, so all those are radiation too.
Click to expand...

Well, I think that by the OPs title of 'Radiation Poisoning' that they are referring to beta/gamma decay of radioactive isotopes. It's not like we refer to radiation poisoning when speaking of overdoses of GHz-frequency electromagnetic radiation. We call that being 'microwaved'. :p
 
mac-convert said:
These units - and others similar - don't emit "radiation" - they transmit high frequency signals through the air. Quite a difference - and I would say that you don't need to worry and living in the same room with it.
Click to expand...

1) Yes, that is radiation.

2) No, it isn't enough to do you damage. Linkety
"Radiation in physics is the process of emitting energy in the form of waves or particles."
 
i don't think you should go outside. the sun puts out a lot of radiation and has been determined by the surgeon general to cause cancer, especially if you live near the earth's poles where there are holes in the ozone layer. and please, for your own health, stay away from all lights and anything else. and don't forget to put a good barrier to keep out radon from below too.

in order to remain healthy, you should build yourself a lead lined house with no windows (preferably underground), drink only pure distilled water and don't eat ANYTHING! that way you will live until you die, and you will confound medical science because they won't be able to figure out what your died from.
 
tuartboy said:
Radio waves radiate from their source and are therefore called radiation. The electromagnetic spectrum covers everything from UV to visible to infrared, so all those are radiation too.
Click to expand...

802.11 radiation wavelength is measured in centimeters.

Radio waves are non-ionizing, which means they cannot cause what is called "radiation poisoning".
 
umdjb said:
Hey,

I was wondering if wireless routers (namely the Airport Extreme Basestation) emits hazardous radiation? Should I be worried and place it a good distance from me?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

crap all the cells phone and radio waves!!!!!! haha no i think its pretty safe

just gonna get my aluminum foil hat to stop the aliens from picking my brain waves now lol jk
 
orangemacapple said:
i don't think you should go outside. the sun puts out a lot of radiation and has been determined by the surgeon general to cause cancer, especially if you live near the earth's poles where there are holes in the ozone layer. and please, for your own health, stay away from all lights and anything else. and don't forget to put a good barrier to keep out radon from below too.

in order to remain healthy, you should build yourself a lead lined house with no windows (preferably underground), drink only pure distilled water and don't eat ANYTHING! that way you will live until you die, and you will confound medical science because they won't be able to figure out what your died from.
Click to expand...

post of the day goes to you, sir :D
 
Wow - a subject that I know something about (I'm a radiation physicist)!

The simple answer, as mentioned above, is that it emits EM radiation but of the non-ionising variety. Ionising radiation (X and gamma rays & some higher energy UV) is by far the most dangerous variety of EM.

Non-ionising can still cause harmful effects but as a result of tissue heating. The amount of radiation emitted by a wireless base station wouldn't be capable of any tissue heating and detrimental effects require a sustained temperature rise of several degrees. Non-ionising radiations are governed in terms of SAR limits (mobile phones, MRI scanners etc) and a base station would be well within these limits. And em fields exhibit inverse square behaviour too - double your distance from the source and get a quarter of the exposure.

Short answer, you're fine. :)
 
umdjb said:
Hey,

I was wondering if wireless routers (namely the Airport Extreme Basestation) emits hazardous radiation? Should I be worried and place it a good distance from me?
Click to expand...

You can go on your whole life worrying about every scare that you read about. Alternatively, you can just get on with it, which will probably lead to a happier, more fulfilled life, and since you can spend more time on doing what is good for you instead of worrying, you are likely to be healther and live longer as well.
 
To be on a safe side, you can always wrap yourself in a layer of tinfoil. I believe, even tinfoil lattice should completely isolate you from any electromagnetic influence from within. Plus, it would look modern, unique, and cool, especially in Apple's colors: "Put some color on" :D
 
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