Question

Can anyone explain the physics involved in electromagnetic waves (from cell phones) affecting human health?

Answer 1

In essence, your cell phone is a radio. When you talk on your cell phone, your voice is transmitted from the antenna as radio frequency radiation (RFR) between 800 MHz and 1,990 MHz. This frequency falls in the range of microwave radiation and, when you are exposed to it, there may be a chance of health consequences.
Depending on how close the cell phone antenna is to your head, between 20% and 60% of the radiation emitted by your cell phone is transferred into your head. The radiation actually penetrates the area around your head and is absorbed, with some radiation reaching an inch, to an inch and a half, into your brain.
Cell phones are designed to transmit radio waves in all directions because base stations can be located in any direction with respect to phone users. This means that portions of the radio waves they produce are directed towards your body.

The density of microwave photons from cell phones and cell phone towers is many orders of magnitude higher than one per cubic wavelength, and could potentially damage vulnerable structures in the body such as neurons. Some of these structures in the body may actually focus microwave photons, increasing the photon density inside the body.

With studies suggesting there is an increased risk of benign brain tumours associated with operating mobile phones for more than 10 years, it’s obvious the debate needs to be taken seriously.

Answer 2

THE GROWING concern about effects of microwave (MW) exposure from mobile phones have been discussed in many countries because of increasing usage of wireless
communication systems. It was also reported that increased incidence of brain tumors correlated with exposure to mobile phone MWs. There is evidence of nonthermal effects of MWs that suggest a possible relationship of MW exposure with permeability of brain blood barrier and stress response. Recent data by Salford et al. provided evidence for neuronal damage in the brains of exposed rats. Proteomic analysis of human endothelial cells in culture have been performed and indicate that mobile phone MWs activate a variety of cellular signal transduction pathways; among them, the hsp27/p38MAPK stress response pathway. In other studies, no effects of nonthermal MWs were observed. However, experimental evidence suggested that MW effects occur only under specific parameters of exposure depending on several physical and biological variables. Nonthermal effects of MWs in extremely high frequency range (millimeter waves) have been reported to be dependent on frequency. Strong dependence of MW effects on several physical parameters, including frequency, and biological variables could explain various outcomes of studies with nonthermal MWs. It has been described that MWs, under specific conditions of exposure, induced DNA strand breaks in rat brain cells as measured by the single cell electrophoresis. The mechanisms of this effect are not understood, but could be related to the induced changes in interaction of DNA with proteins rather than DNA damage. In this paper, we analyze these possibilities using the AVTD method. Both chromatin decondensation, which is induced by DNA damage, and chromatin condensation which is observed during stress response, can be measured by this technique.

Answer 3

Either way you look at it though, you get more radiation from everything else in your life than your cell phone.