Oh, for heaven's sake....
A new study shows that cell phones cause cancer!
Great. Now we have to deal with crap like this again. -.-
Let's go waaay back to the basics, shall we? Radio waves. Y'know what radio waves are, right? (Hint: it has nothing to do with sound.)
Radio waves are...LIGHT!
Now, some types of light are dangerous. UV, for example (and basically anything higher frequency than that: X-rays, gamma rays). Radio waves, on the other hand, are at the complete opposite end of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. In other words, they're the lowest-energy (lowest-frequency) types of EM radiation (i.e., light--don't let the word "radiation" get you all in a tizzy) out there.
Lowest. Energy.
"But," you say, "Wikipedia says they operate at Ultra-High Frequency (UHF)! And you said high-frequency is bad!"
Yeah, UHF...radio waves. In other words, they're "ultra-high frequency" as compared with other radio waves. Guess what types of light are at higher frequencies (higher energies) than UHF?
Infrared, for one. And guess what? Your body gives off IR radiation! Your body gives off higher-energy light than your cell phone does! So does every human being and animal! YOUR FRIENDS AND PETS ARE IRRADIATING YOU! Are you dead? You may want to poke yourself if you're not sure.
Secondly, visible light is higher energy, for heaven's sake! Light with higher energies than what your cell phone emits are what allow you to see in the first place! In other words, "high-energy" radiation is hitting your eyes constantly! Are you dead yet? NO? Well, why not?!
Still not convinced?
Guess what else works in the UHF range? Bluetooth! Wi-fi! Television! You know how long TV has been around? It has been "commercially available" since the 1920s! That Starbucks you visit every day has wi-fi, so you're being irradiated by those UHF waves too! What else uses radio waves? The tunable radio in your car. Satellite radio and TV. Are we all dead from cancer yet? No? Well, golly gee!
What else irradiates us on a daily basis with light much higher energy than what your cell phone emits? I mentioned UV before. Did you know that fluorescent lights give off UV? The sun does, too. You're irradiated by higher-energy light than UV by stuff that comes from space and stuff that you don't even know about around you. Did you know that when you fly in a commercial airplane, you're getting several months' worth of on-the-ground radiation in just a few hours?
Are you dead yet?
"But," you say, "cell phones are right next our heads (or in our pockets)!"
Re-read the stuff about IR. Your brain gives off higher-energy light than your cell phone!
Now, radio waves can be intense enough to do some weird crap. If you stand in the right place on a sub-millimeter (higher frequency than radio waves but lower than IR) telescope dish during the day, it can set your clothes on fire like a magnifying glass (this has actually happened). But that's taking light from the sun (a crapton more intense than your measly cell phone) and purposely focusing it onto a certain area. Your cell phone isn't even remotely as powerful as the sun (not by a long shot), and it's not focusing its radio waves on your brain. In fact, it's not focusing its radio waves at all. It's broadcasting them in all directions. It does this in the hopes that it will find a cell tower somewhere nearby to transmit your call. The cell towers do the same thing. When someone calls you, it broadcasts in all directions to find either another tower or your phone.
Now that the basic stuff is out of the way, let's look at the study itself. Specifically, the use of "might" in the phrase, "Cell phones might cause cancer." It's one of those words that means, scientifically, that it can't be ruled out completely, but the evidence is not good enough for us to say "certainly" or even "probably." The Bad Astronomer also pointed out that the "might cause cancer" category in which they lob cell phones also includes things like gasoline and coffee.
So...the point is.... If you want to ignore all the scientific reasons why cell phones don't cause cancer, then answer me this: Are you worried that gassing up your car and/or driving it will cause cancer? Are you worried that all the coffee you drink will cause cancer?
No?
Then don't worry about your cell phone.
-
Great. Now we have to deal with crap like this again. -.-
Let's go waaay back to the basics, shall we? Radio waves. Y'know what radio waves are, right? (Hint: it has nothing to do with sound.)
Radio waves are...LIGHT!
Now, some types of light are dangerous. UV, for example (and basically anything higher frequency than that: X-rays, gamma rays). Radio waves, on the other hand, are at the complete opposite end of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. In other words, they're the lowest-energy (lowest-frequency) types of EM radiation (i.e., light--don't let the word "radiation" get you all in a tizzy) out there.
Lowest. Energy.
"But," you say, "Wikipedia says they operate at Ultra-High Frequency (UHF)! And you said high-frequency is bad!"
Yeah, UHF...radio waves. In other words, they're "ultra-high frequency" as compared with other radio waves. Guess what types of light are at higher frequencies (higher energies) than UHF?
Infrared, for one. And guess what? Your body gives off IR radiation! Your body gives off higher-energy light than your cell phone does! So does every human being and animal! YOUR FRIENDS AND PETS ARE IRRADIATING YOU! Are you dead? You may want to poke yourself if you're not sure.
Secondly, visible light is higher energy, for heaven's sake! Light with higher energies than what your cell phone emits are what allow you to see in the first place! In other words, "high-energy" radiation is hitting your eyes constantly! Are you dead yet? NO? Well, why not?!
Still not convinced?
Guess what else works in the UHF range? Bluetooth! Wi-fi! Television! You know how long TV has been around? It has been "commercially available" since the 1920s! That Starbucks you visit every day has wi-fi, so you're being irradiated by those UHF waves too! What else uses radio waves? The tunable radio in your car. Satellite radio and TV. Are we all dead from cancer yet? No? Well, golly gee!
What else irradiates us on a daily basis with light much higher energy than what your cell phone emits? I mentioned UV before. Did you know that fluorescent lights give off UV? The sun does, too. You're irradiated by higher-energy light than UV by stuff that comes from space and stuff that you don't even know about around you. Did you know that when you fly in a commercial airplane, you're getting several months' worth of on-the-ground radiation in just a few hours?
Are you dead yet?
"But," you say, "cell phones are right next our heads (or in our pockets)!"
Re-read the stuff about IR. Your brain gives off higher-energy light than your cell phone!
Now, radio waves can be intense enough to do some weird crap. If you stand in the right place on a sub-millimeter (higher frequency than radio waves but lower than IR) telescope dish during the day, it can set your clothes on fire like a magnifying glass (this has actually happened). But that's taking light from the sun (a crapton more intense than your measly cell phone) and purposely focusing it onto a certain area. Your cell phone isn't even remotely as powerful as the sun (not by a long shot), and it's not focusing its radio waves on your brain. In fact, it's not focusing its radio waves at all. It's broadcasting them in all directions. It does this in the hopes that it will find a cell tower somewhere nearby to transmit your call. The cell towers do the same thing. When someone calls you, it broadcasts in all directions to find either another tower or your phone.
Now that the basic stuff is out of the way, let's look at the study itself. Specifically, the use of "might" in the phrase, "Cell phones might cause cancer." It's one of those words that means, scientifically, that it can't be ruled out completely, but the evidence is not good enough for us to say "certainly" or even "probably." The Bad Astronomer also pointed out that the "might cause cancer" category in which they lob cell phones also includes things like gasoline and coffee.
So...the point is.... If you want to ignore all the scientific reasons why cell phones don't cause cancer, then answer me this: Are you worried that gassing up your car and/or driving it will cause cancer? Are you worried that all the coffee you drink will cause cancer?
No?
Then don't worry about your cell phone.
-