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Sedulous

macrumors 68030
Dec 10, 2002
2,530
2,577
Again there's a lot of bad arguments in support of the right conclusion. I'm not terribly worried about this. The FCC limits are conservative to begin with. That said, the short-cut reasons people keep using aren't the reasons we don't need to be worried.




Not this again...

UVA and UVB are non-ionizing and yet cause tissue damage and cancer. This idea that non-ionizing (the radiation itself isn't ionized or not, it's about the impact it has on the atoms it encounters) is automatically safe is just wrong.

RF is not harmless. Low levels of RF are probably harmless. There is a reason this is tested, and it can cause significant damage to critical tissues.



EMF doesn't mean what you think it does:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromotive_force

They did freak out. Not much came of it. Most people who understood radio avoided holding those things close to their heads, but by the time cell phones became common pocket devices the power levels had come down.
UV at the shorter wavelength range (UV-B and C ~100-315) IS ionizing radiation. Remember, ionizing radiation simply means the radiation is carried by a wave with enough energy to pop electrons off an atom.

EMF can mean a bunch of things. In this case I think it was shorthand for “electromagentic field”.

RF (radio frequencies) are made of frequencies that at any sensible amplitude (power) can not possibly carry enough energy to be ionizing. They are in all sense, “harmless”.
 

mr.steevo

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2004
1,411
940
Does anyone else feel their phone vibrate in their pocket...

Only to pat their pocket and realize their phone is on their desk?

ANYONE?
 
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Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
8,861
11,391
UV at the shorter wavelength range (UV-B and C ~100-315) IS ionizing radiation. Remember, ionizing radiation simply means the radiation is carried by a wave with enough energy to pop electrons off an atom.

EMF can mean a bunch of things. In this case I think it was shorthand for “electromagentic field”.

RF (radio frequencies) are made of frequencies that at any sensible amplitude (power) can not possibly carry enough energy to be ionizing. They are in all sense, “harmless”.
I suppose if you have a lot of cesium in your cells, then UVB might cause you some problems, but for biological purposes ionizing generally means 10eV or higher (~120nm or less) and that is firmly at the high end of UVC. Very little if any UVC reaches the earths surface. Sunburn and skin cancer are caused by non-ionizing UVB.

If EMF means electromagnetic fields then the statement I commented on was still nonsensical. Xrays also form electromagnetic fields. It doesn't matter what end of the spectrum you're talking about...

RF is not in all senses harmless-- that's the whole point of SAR and MPE testing. Get this ionizing/non-ionizing nonsense out of your head. It's an overly simplistic view of the world. Yes, ionizing is bad, but it's not the only bad.


And because people can't seem to understand nuanced arguments, I'll repeat that I'm in no way saying that your iPhone is giving you cancer.
 
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Sedulous

macrumors 68030
Dec 10, 2002
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Lol at all the uninformed posters declaring unequivocally that radiation from cellphones can’t be harmful. The reality is we have mixed evidence from animal studies. Male rats had statistically significant increases in cancer due to equivalent radiation. The results in female rats and mice were equivocal.

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsroom/releases/2018/november1/index.cfm

This was a well designed and long awaited study and the results are pretty interesting. I wouldn’t stop using a cellphone as a result, it’s way too early for that. But I would keep an eye on future studies, and I would expect companies like Samsung and Apple to, at a bare minimum, remain within current federal guidelines.
Even the authors had to say results are “equivocal”. In fact, the control group had a lower survival rate than ANY of the experimental groups. It is still baffling why the title of the article was not supported by the results. Their conclusion was uncertain.
 

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spotlight07

macrumors regular
Mar 28, 2007
170
104
iPhone provides enough quality of life benefit to outweigh any risk. I don’t wish to return to the stone age even if it did extend my life.
 

Sedulous

macrumors 68030
Dec 10, 2002
2,530
2,577
I suppose if you have a lot of cesium in cells, then UVB might cause you some problems, but for biological purposes ionizing generally means 10eV or higher (~120nm or less) and that is firmly at the high end of UVC. Very little if any UVC reaches the earths surface. Sunburn and skin cancer are caused by non-ionizing UVB.

If EMF means electromagnetic fields then the statement I commented on was still nonsensical. Xrays also form electromagnetic fields. It doesn't matter what end of the spectrum you're talking about...

RF is not in all senses harmless-- that's the whole point of SAR and MPE testing. Get this ionizing/non-ionizing nonsense out of your head. It's an overly simplistic view of the world. Yes, ionizing is bad, but it's not the only bad.


And because people can't seem to understand nuanced arguments, I'll repeat that I'm in no way saying that your iPhone is giving you cancer.
UV-B is considered ionizing. UV-A is not. RF cannot carry enough energy to split nucleotide bonds. Unless we are talking colossally-massively-outrageously high amplitude RF, that is just how it is.
 

Analog Kid

macrumors G3
Mar 4, 2003
8,861
11,391
UV-B is considered ionizing. UV-A is not. RF cannot carry enough energy to split nucleotide bonds. Unless we are talking colossally-massively-outrageously high amplitude RF, that is just how it is.
UVB is considered ionizing by who in what context? The FCC considers photons over 10eV to be ionizing from a biological perspective. The WHO says 12.4eV. Both are firmly in the UVC range.
https://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/oet/info/documents/bulletins/oet56/oet56e4.pdf
https://www.who.int/peh-emf/meetings/archive/en/keynote3ng.pdf

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission specifically calls UV non-ionizing (but X-rays ionizing, so it's not because they're looking at particles rather than EM):
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/ionizing-radiation.html

If you are saying that sunburn and skin cancer are caused by ionization, we have an argument.
https://www.bioscience.org/1997/v2/d/soehnge/3.htm

UV causes DNA lesions by photochemical reaction, not ionization:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrimidine_dimer

So, while I agree UVB may be classified as ionizing from a purely chemical perspective, from a biological perspective it's the non-ionizing UVA and UVB that do the harm.

Yes, RF is non-ionizing. There is no argument there. It doesn't take ionization to cause tissue damage, that's just how it is.
 
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code-m

macrumors 68040
Apr 13, 2006
3,638
3,398
So then can we sue the fossil fuel industry for destroying our ozone layer?

The world worked together and banned CFC, unfortunately some nations with rogue individuals have started producing it again.
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Ozone does not block radio, it blocks UV.

When did I specifically state radio, I said harm. Now if you consider RF harmful well I have a news for you there are other bigger problems. Use BT or no RF device to keep you safe. Not taking sides just pointing out that every individual is in potential harm everyday. One could get into an auto accident but people still drive cars or take public transportation or walk.

While there maybe a risk with RF there are protective measures one can take to minimize exposure.

You have a choice while in other news the US has been considering to increase exposure limits for radioactive substances. :-S
 
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AgentAnonymous

macrumors 6502
May 6, 2016
305
527
It surprises me how many people here disapprove of this lawsuit because "there's no proof it harms humans".

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I'm not interested in rolling the dice with radiation just because some companies can't abide by the rules.
 
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jw2002

macrumors 6502
Feb 23, 2008
392
59
It sounds like this lawsuit could be based on erroneous interpretation of near field measurements. While they very well could have measured a strong field value (especially at some unrealistic and ridiculously close range like 2mm), the likelihood is that the power contained in that field is probably well within FCC power radiation limits. Getting more technical, they were measuring rapidly decaying evanescent fields, not radiating fields. If they want to make a claim that fields containing zero power can somehow cook people's brains, then they will be fighting an uphill battle because the science says otherwise.
 

jw2002

macrumors 6502
Feb 23, 2008
392
59
Yes, RF is non-ionizing. There is no argument there.

Radiation can cause tissue damage either through heating or ionizing. Clearly, RF is non-ionizing. So then the issue is whether or not some amount of RF is capable of heating tissue enough to damage it or precipitate some chemical reaction. In order for that to happen the RF needs to be strong enough to overcome the capacity of the tissue to dissipate heat. Most tissue is water based (humans are 60% water) which dissipates heat extremely rapidly -- apart from certain resonant frequencies associated with water molecules. An iPhone simply isn't blasting anywhere near enough RF energy to heat up a human cell or overcome that cell's ability to dissipate heat. Increase the power of the iPhone by 10,000 or 100,000 and then maybe there would be an issue.
 

Sedulous

macrumors 68030
Dec 10, 2002
2,530
2,577
UVB is considered ionizing by who in what context? The FCC considers photons over 10eV to be ionizing from a biological perspective. The WHO says 12.4eV. Both are firmly in the UVC range.
https://transition.fcc.gov/bureaus/oet/info/documents/bulletins/oet56/oet56e4.pdf
https://www.who.int/peh-emf/meetings/archive/en/keynote3ng.pdf

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission specifically calls UV non-ionizing (but X-rays ionizing, so it's not because they're looking at particles rather than EM):
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/basic-ref/glossary/ionizing-radiation.html

If you are saying that sunburn and skin cancer are caused by ionization, we have an argument.
https://www.bioscience.org/1997/v2/d/soehnge/3.htm

UV causes DNA lesions by photochemical reaction, not ionization:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrimidine_dimer

So, while I agree UVB may be classified as ionizing from a purely chemical perspective, from a biological perspective it's the non-ionizing UVA and UVB that do the harm.

Yes, RF is non-ionizing. There is no argument there. It doesn't take ionization to cause tissue damage, that's just how it is.
While it is interesting to discuss the finer points of UV (and thank you for linking information; UV-B/C is considered the margin of ionizing), really the question is whether RF can be dangerous at the amplitudes used by mobile phones. At this wavelength certainly not by breaking molecular bonds. I am also not aware of any significant absorption by organic materials (although I know little about 5G spectrum). Or put another way, a microwave oven is tuned specifically to the frequency absorbed by water and most microwaves output at around 1000W. Even if the phone were to pour all of its energy into a single “blast”, the resulting transmission power would be about 1-2 W... and not at a frequency known to be well absorbed by the body. Even if this transmission power could be maintained longer than that, it simply is not enough to add enough energy to significantly change any chemistry in the body.
 
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StevieD100

macrumors 6502a
Jan 18, 2014
732
1,148
Living Dangerously in Retirement
I will bet a pound to a peanut that all the law firm lawyers will still use their own phones as if they were safe. Would make for a fun counter defence if caught on video.
I'm sure that all those $500/hour legal types will be using phones made by other companies. Anything but the companies named in the lawsuit. The same has to go for their computers etc etc etc. They have to be seen to be squeeky clean.
The rub could be that those alternatives are worse...
 

Sedulous

macrumors 68030
Dec 10, 2002
2,530
2,577
In regards to EMF and the people saying it's safe. I will leave this here.
Though it's only for the logical intelligent people out there
Watched and not particularly impressed. She claims that cell phones use the same frequency as microwave ovens and the only difference is power. This is incorrect, they operate at different frequencies (though both are classed in the microwave spectrum). Furthermore, the claim that the cell phone can “heat up the brain” is preposterous. Even if a mobile phone transmitted enough power to heat the body (which it does not, I mean come on use some sense here, the battery is only ~3000maH), the body has this thing called blood and like a liquid cooled heat sink, it can carry away heat to closely maintain temperature. The rest was similar hysterics and junk science.
 

insomniac86

macrumors 6502a
Oct 13, 2015
604
905
Perth, Western Australia
Watched and not particularly impressed. She claims that cell phones use the same frequency as microwave ovens and the only difference is power. This is incorrect, they operate at different frequencies (though both are classed in the microwave spectrum). Furthermore, the claim that the cell phone can “heat up the brain” is preposterous. Even if a mobile phone transmitted enough power to heat the body (which it does not, I mean come on use some sense here, the battery is only ~3000maH), the body has this thing called blood and like a liquid cooled heat sink, it can carry away heat to closely maintain temperature. The rest was similar hysterics and junk science.

Thanks for your reply.
As I said, I only want logical people to watch, so cheers for being such.

The only interesting point I have come across was from 2 of my local doctors.
-They have both said, that in the last 20 years, they have seen a huge increase of brain tumours on the side of the head where patients use their phones,
-An increase in tumours around the shirt pocket areas of business men.

I also think it's suspect that "apparently" the government used a large heavy male as the reference point for RF exposure tests.
 

unobtainium

macrumors 68030
Mar 27, 2011
2,596
3,859
Did you even read those reports? Even the authors had to say results are “equivocal”. In fact, the control group had a lower survival rate than ANY of the experimental groups.
Uh, not to be snarky, but did you even read my post or the study itself? Your attached screenshot shows the results in mice. As I said, results were equivocal in all mice and in female rats. However, there was a clear association between exposure and cancers in male rats.

As I further said, this is not a reason to freak out about cellphone radiation. It is a good reason to keep an eye on further studies, and to hold manufacturers to the already established exposure guidelines.
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It surprises me how many surprisingly stupid people here disapprove of this lawsuit because "there's no proof it harms humans".

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I'm not interested in rolling the dice with radiation just because some companies can't abide by the rules.
American regulators largely abandoned the precautionary principle because they considered it too much of a burden on businesses to prove the safety of new products. Now we just wait for people (sorry, “consumers”) to start complaining of harm before applying any sort of scrutiny.
 
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laz232

macrumors 6502a
Feb 4, 2016
733
1,384
At a café near you
As another poster mentioned the FCC sets the standard, they review and test manufacturers claims and then grant approval for the device to be sold and used. If anything this is the FCC responsibility and not to just rubber stamp anything and everything. I am not taking sides just pointing out where the lawsuit should be targeted.

Let’s say Apple and Samsung are found guilty, those two companies will just sue the FCC for its role to approve.

Having done quite a bit of EMC testing in my time, it is the manufacturer that typically specifies the software and test set up on the transmitter side - the FCC does not check the code that sets, for example, power backoff.
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I wonder why nobody freaked out about this in the 80s and 90s when analog cellphones were transmitting an entire watt or more ERP, yet nobody got hurt by that. Modern phones put out a tiny fraction of that, and people are freaking out.

I'm so tired of this excessive paranoia.

Different frequencies, different modulation forms (which appear to have some effects in lab conditions (in vitro)) and I guess that the total integrated dose is higher now due to the omnipresence and ubiquity of mobile devices.

I don't think that non thermal effects of RF radiation are acutely detrimental (obviously) but having read the literature since the early 2000s I would not hastily rule out the possibility of negative effects. But like everything (including water) -It is the dose that makes the poison...
 
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SgtPepper12

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2011
697
673
Germany
I really don't like this weird phenomenon when people read up a single wikipedia article or were informed about a single aspect of a complex matter ("non-ionizing radiation") and think they now know everything about that topic, even more so than active researchers in the very field. Then they go out, roll their eyes "Well, science has shown that...". It is so incredibly annoying. Unapologetic ignorance is honestly so much easier to handle than dogmatic half knowledge.

There's a lot of dumb on the internet, so some simple napkin math:

The iPhone XR has a 12 watt-hour battery and 25 hours of talk time. So, assuming you've got the phone plastered to your face, which you'd pretty much only be doing if you were talking on it, and also assuming that, miraculously, 100% of that wattage is going into the radio signal going in and out, that's half a watt of electromagnetic radiation.

A consumer microwave, which, you know, cooks food, runs from 1,000 to 2,000 watts while active.

This is like worrying about your electric hand warmer burning you because it uses the same heating coils as a space heater.

... actually, the hand warmer is actually a much bigger risk than a phone 'cause it typically eats 20 times as much wattage to generate its heat as the previously-mentioned XR, and the infrared electromagnetic radiation coming out of it is in the terahertz range, literally thousands of times higher than a cell phone radio's gigahertz range.

For whatever reason, I think we'll all be fine and the current stateside limits on electromagnetic power are bloody stupid.
Warming your hand with a hand warmer is a fundamentally different process from warming it with microwaves. The warmth of a hand warmer enters the body via diffusive processes from the outside, something our body is well-adapted to. We have mechanisms such as sweating or regulating blood flow in our skin to adapt to that. Microwaves on the other hand are very penetrative, so you'll heat up your body from the inside. That is something the human body is well-adapted to. Whereas your skin can carry excess heat away pretty effectively, some random cell in your brain can't really do anything about it except wait for diffusion and blood flow to carry the excess heat away.

I'm not saying that is any way proof that thus iPhones emit harmful radiation, but there are certainly mechanisms that are poorly understood and deserve a high level of attention and research. Using a smartphone these days is pretty much mandatory and even when just a tiny fraction of all people using smartphones experience adverse effects, that is still a huge number of people. We have every reason to be careful and honestly pretty trivial reasons to crank up our phone's antennae. We don't want to tell people that suffer from health issues that they do so because people thought it's sometimes annoying when you lose your signal. That is not at all how we should set up our priorities.
 
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macfan90

Cancelled
Jun 4, 2014
93
89
remember when apple said the Mac Pro would launch in the fall..... imagine the radiation from the cheese grater design.
 

FlyingDutch

macrumors 65816
Aug 21, 2019
1,319
1,206
Eindhoven (NL)
So tired of people freaking out over RF, which is harmless. Reducing RF emission will reduce the performance of the phone since the tower won't be able to receive it as well!
Do you have proof of that?
because you are most probably right, but the entire point here is nobody really knows.
 
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