Wi-Fi

NautiAndNice · 21 May 2007, 20:52

Anyone see Panorama tonight?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ma/6674675.stm

Reckon we should be worried??

118118 · 21 May 2007, 21:42

no,
how much radiation do you get from a handheld vhf, 6 inches from your brain, or the ariel 2m behind you?

Hightower · 21 May 2007, 22:18

Or a 2kw RADAR 2 meters from your head

Hell, yes we should be worried. My Kids are growing up a world of Radiation, a little bit 24/7 over a long time....Got to do some damage!

alt · 21 May 2007, 23:20

Think about mobiles phones in yet pocket all day... very close to something sensitive!

codprawn · 22 May 2007, 02:08

This is where the inverse square law comes into play - basically any electromagnetic wave loses power a massive amount the further away it gets. So basically at 2x the distance the power is 1/4 the source and so on.

This racks up very rapidly so for example someone sleeping under an electric blanket gets more radiation than someone living directly beneath an electricity pylon.

Putting a mobile phone to your head is therefore worse than living by a mast even though the mast pumps out a few kilowatts as opposed to the phones milliwatts!!!

Having a laptop on your lap is worse than having the router a few feet from you etc.

Of course all this pales into insignificance compared to the crap the sun chucks at us every day - unless you live in Wales!!!

codprawn · 22 May 2007, 02:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hightower

Or a 2kw RADAR 2 meters from your head

Hell, yes we should be worried. My Kids are growing up a world of Radiation, a little bit 24/7 over a long time....Got to do some damage!

Background natural radiation can be much worse than the man made stuff!!!

MikeCC · 22 May 2007, 08:53

As someone pointed out (on here I think) the ultimate health and safety sanction is to ban birth because it always leads to death.

There's no point worrying about it all - something will get you in the end!

NautiAndNice · 22 May 2007, 09:00

Just concerns me that, in the absence of concrete evidence of adverse effects, wi-fi networks are being rolled out across the country. Lack of evidence of disease/biological effects does not mean wi-fi is safe - it just means that insufficient studies have been carried out.
Look at HRT - deemed "safe" (i.e. no evidence to the contrary) for ages and doled out left, right and centre - and now ....

codprawn · 22 May 2007, 10:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by NautiAndNice

Just concerns me that, in the absence of concrete evidence of adverse effects, wi-fi networks are being rolled out across the country. Lack of evidence of disease/biological effects does not mean wi-fi is safe - it just means that insufficient studies have been carried out.
Look at HRT - deemed "safe" (i.e. no evidence to the contrary) for ages and doled out left, right and centre - and now ....

Read my comments on the inverse square law - a few feet away from the source and the power levels are miniscule - much less than your mobile phone right by your head.

NautiAndNice · 22 May 2007, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Read my comments on the inverse square law - a few feet away from the source and the power levels are miniscule - much less than your mobile phone right by your head.

What about exposure over time? Could the effects of prolonged low level exposure be cumulative?

codprawn · 22 May 2007, 10:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by NautiAndNice

What about exposure over time? Could the effects of prolonged low level exposure be cumulative?

Of course anything could be but the natural background radiation in your area could be a 1000 times worse. Have you ever had it checked???

alystra · 22 May 2007, 11:50

I watched the program. Another out of many designed to raise the anxiety level of the population and undermine the values of science and progress. Emotive words like 'radiation' are used without explanation. I wonder how many people realise there's a difference between the ionising radiation from nuclear explosions, Chernobyl, radiotherapy units, etc. and the electromagnetic radiation from masts and phones? I guess many people watching such programs don't, and I'm sure that's intended.

I wonder what would happen today if electricity had just been discovered. Pipe it into everyone's homes? Far too dangerous - don't you realise that just one touch can incapacitate and perhaps even kill. And what of the long term effects, especially on our children? Ban it until there's evidence to prove it's not harmful to them.

As for the world's biggest killer, a fact kept secret by governments for years - Dihydrogen Monoxide. One breath can kill you, yet no one is studying its harmful effects. That such a hazardous substance is allowed by government to saturate our daily lives is a disgrace. As for its long term effects on the development of our children? Well, I doubt that anyone in government is prepared to speak in public about it.

As for Wi-Fi. Some 'children' I have known would have benefitted immensely from a bit of brain boiling.

Hightower · 22 May 2007, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Background natural radiation can be much worse than the man made stuff!!!

Agreed! But any radiation is bad for you in everyday life, isn't it?

John Kennett · 22 May 2007, 13:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by alystra

As for the world's biggest killer, a fact kept secret by governments for years - Dihydrogen Monoxide. One breath can kill you, yet no one is studying its harmful effects. That such a hazardous substance is allowed by government to saturate our daily lives is a disgrace. As for its long term effects on the development of our children? Well, I doubt that anyone in government is prepared to speak in public about it.

It's not that no one is studying the effects; they are already well documented.

It's an issue I raised a while back. As RIB users we are often exposed to DHMO in much higher concentrations than the general public and we should be very aware of the dangers.

John

NautiAndNice · 22 May 2007, 13:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Of course anything could be but the natural background radiation in your area could be a 1000 times worse. Have you ever had it checked???

Not where I am now, no ... we did have a play with a Geiger Counter at the outlaws place a while back .... their homegrown cauliflower appeared to be a particular hotspot?!

Poly · 22 May 2007, 16:15

Time to put it in perspective. Do you know anyone personally who has become ill or died as a direct (or even suspected) result of using Wifi, Mobile phone, etc?

Now do you know anyone who has died or been seriously injured: in a car, walking down the street, from alchohol (either long term or whilst pissed), from passive smoking, from a boating related accident, whilst at work, whilst up a ladder... ...probably best to lock yourself away... ...or you could get on with life and stop worrying.

nik · 22 May 2007, 16:17

I was under the impression that cordless phones worked on the same frequency as wifi, no one seems bothered about that.

NautiAndNice · 22 May 2007, 19:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

Time to put it in perspective. Do you know anyone personally who has become ill or died as a direct (or even suspected) result of using Wifi, Mobile phone, etc?

Now do you know anyone who has died or been seriously injured: in a car, walking down the street, from alchohol (either long term or whilst pissed), from passive smoking, from a boating related accident, whilst at work, whilst up a ladder... ...probably best to lock yourself away... ...or you could get on with life and stop worrying.

I'm not especially concerned about this over and above any other number of risks ... would just like to know the facts.
I've got wi-fi here, (I can detech 5 other wi-fi networks in this immediate area also), and I use mobile/cordless devices every day.

Research, in most fields, appears to have happy knack of being somewhat biased in volume in favour of large multinational companies, who often have a vested interest in the subject being researched.

The Garfish · 22 May 2007, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

much less than your mobile phone right by your head.

i fink yew mus spennd a lott ov tyme onn de fone

gaRf

BogMonster · 23 May 2007, 16:45

There was a big fuss here when mobile phones were first introduced about 2 years ago, because one of the masts was right next to a kiddies playground and all the antis got tuned up to full blast about barbecued babies and all sorts of crap. The planning permission process went around the houses a bit but eventually they came back with a bit of science on it which is that the safe level for PERMANENT exposure of a human to the radiation was about 18 inches from the antenna - which was on top of a 100ft mast. That was a base station not a phone, transmitting all the time not a quick squirt every few minutes to tell the network where it is.

HSE regs these days are getting daft. Though I admit I don't leave my phone in my pocket if it can be sitting on the desk a bit further away from "those"