4 ms·

Seems incredibly speculative. As far as I know there's no convincing evidence that radio-frequency waves can be linked to cancer, let alone that radio waves plu

by hugh3 16y ago

Seems incredibly speculative. As far as I know there's no convincing evidence that radio-frequency waves can be linked to cancer, let alone that radio waves plus bedsprings can be linked to cancer. And yet I'm sure there'll be thousands of people going to sleep tonight, spooked that their beds are about to give them cancer.

thaumaturgy 16y ago
Well, it's possible that the coils in a spring mattress -- being conductive and of a regular height and at regular intervals -- could have some kind of RF field effect. It would still be miniscule, but it could cause a phase alignment maybe or something equally strange. But you're right, this is nothing but speculation. I would expect that a reasonable field strength meter would be all that's required to test the theory out, so I wonder why it wasn't tested before publication? Also, one of the two researchers is Ollie Johansson, who earned Swedish Skeptics Society's illustrious "Misleader of the Year" award: http://www.vof.se/visa-forvillare2004eng http://www.vof.se/visa-forvillare2004eng He also formulated a theory that lung cancer wasn't due strictly to smoking, but also that it had something to do with the increase of radio waves starting in the 50s. In this case I think it would be appropriate for amateurs to view his work in a skeptical light. EDIT: I couldn't remember the term for them, but basically the mattress might be able to form a very crude kind of passive repeater. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_repeater http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_repeater ...but, again, this ought to be tested rather than speculated.
- Groxx 16y ago
  The passive repeater is for getting around things which don't allow line-of-sight, and passive because it's just routing a signal without any amplification. The image on the article receives a signal, and sends it via coax to a transmitter. Other forms mention a waveguide, used to connect two dishes. And the output is weaker than the input (necessarily), which seems to imply background noise would be stronger than the signal from your bed. Or at the very least, the bed would provide a slight shielding effect due to the cost of conducting the signal. ie, a passive repeater looks like this: ______(dishes)______ | | V V \__________________/ ) /| (waveguide) |\ ) signals _ (weaker) ) |________________| ) \ ) / \ ) | ) / \ ) | / (Ground) \ ) V / \ ) / \ Maybe you're thinking of some kind of electromagnetic lens? (had fun making the image, part of the reason for this comment :)

by hugh3 16y ago

thaumaturgy 16y ago

Well, it's possible that the coils in a spring mattress -- being conductive and of a regular height and at regular intervals -- could have some kind of RF field effect. It would still be miniscule, but it could cause a phase alignment maybe or something equally strange. But you're right, this is nothing but speculation. I would expect that a reasonable field strength meter would be all that's required to test the theory out, so I wonder why it wasn't tested before publication? Also, one of the two researchers is Ollie Johansson, who earned Swedish Skeptics Society's illustrious "Misleader of the Year" award: http://www.vof.se/visa-forvillare2004eng http://www.vof.se/visa-forvillare2004eng He also formulated a theory that lung cancer wasn't due strictly to smoking, but also that it had something to do with the increase of radio waves starting in the 50s. In this case I think it would be appropriate for amateurs to view his work in a skeptical light. EDIT: I couldn't remember the term for them, but basically the mattress might be able to form a very crude kind of passive repeater. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_repeater http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_repeater ...but, again, this ought to be tested rather than speculated.

Groxx 16y ago
The passive repeater is for getting around things which don't allow line-of-sight, and passive because it's just routing a signal without any amplification. The image on the article receives a signal, and sends it via coax to a transmitter. Other forms mention a waveguide, used to connect two dishes. And the output is weaker than the input (necessarily), which seems to imply background noise would be stronger than the signal from your bed. Or at the very least, the bed would provide a slight shielding effect due to the cost of conducting the signal. ie, a passive repeater looks like this: ______(dishes)______ | | V V \__________________/ ) /| (waveguide) |\ ) signals _ (weaker) ) |________________| ) \ ) / \ ) | ) / \ ) | / (Ground) \ ) V / \ ) / \ Maybe you're thinking of some kind of electromagnetic lens? (had fun making the image, part of the reason for this comment :)