3 ms·

I am pretty sure the opposite is true, the newer cellphones expose users to more radiation. There was even an article few days back on HN describing the trend i

I am pretty sure the opposite is true, the newer cellphones expose users to more radiation. There was even an article few days back on HN describing the trend in context of introducing 5G.

bsder 8y ago
Relative to the old analog phones which had to reach out over enormous distances? Extremely unlikely. I imagine that my single analog phone call while I crossed northern Nevada probably exposed my head to more radiation than the rest of my cell phone usage combined. With 5G, the carriers are having to densify the cell towers significantly. So, on average you are going to have to transmit less distance for less time. A good test would probably be: does your battery last longer doing radio things? Energy in a battery is fixed. If the battery is lasting longer and hasn't gotten bigger, it's turning less of that energy into radio power.
- ridgeguy 8y ago
  If beam-steering antennas are used in 5G handsets [1], the handset will beam-form a more narrow, higher ERP antenna pattern to improve transmit and receive performance if a body part gets between handset and base station. This would increase power density at the intervening tissue. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/a-beam-steering-antenna-for-real-world-mobile-phones https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/a-beam-...
- mcbits 8y ago
  Old analog cell phones used about three times as much power, but the frequencies were lower and the antennas were held farther from the head. The old tower transmitters used more power but were much less densely distributed than today and especially tomorrow. Assuming microwaves do have the potential to cause some kind of damage (beyond simple heating with absorption), the power level would be only one factor and possibly not the most important one.
- lmilcin 8y ago
  There is misconception that all radiation and all patterns of it is the same. Comparing output power is largely useless because what is really important is how it affects body and this depends on very many factors, not all doses are the same. For example, standing in full sunlight might not be a problem normally unless you stand for entire day and get burned (extended exposure without allowing the body the time to repair) or maybe the sunlight gets concentrated by a lens and burns your finger without changing total exposure to sun (concentrated in space) or maybe gets somehow converted to UV (concentrated to restrict wavelengths to hit specific molecules reacting with UV) or stored as energy in the form of oil and released quickly when burning (concentrated in time). The first cellphones where much larger devices placing the source of the radiation further away from your body. They were also omnidirectional making sure that the maximum density of the field was low. New devices use beam forming which means it sometimes hits with a dense wave travelling through your body as if it was a sunlight concentrated with a lens. Also, new cellphones are much better transmitters with much better control of the spectrum to maximise the power at a specific frequency. It further exacerbates the effect meaning if the beam interacts with something in the body it interacts much more strongly, again, akin to the concentrating lens. With old cellphone everything would be getting warmer a bit, with newer ones it may come into much stronger interactions because it may do it much more selectively (in space, time and choice of a molecule it interacts with).

I am pretty sure the opposite is true, the newer cellphones expose users to more radiation. There was even an article few days back on HN describing the trend in context of introducing 5G.

bsder 8y ago

Relative to the old analog phones which had to reach out over enormous distances? Extremely unlikely. I imagine that my single analog phone call while I crossed northern Nevada probably exposed my head to more radiation than the rest of my cell phone usage combined. With 5G, the carriers are having to densify the cell towers significantly. So, on average you are going to have to transmit less distance for less time. A good test would probably be: does your battery last longer doing radio things? Energy in a battery is fixed. If the battery is lasting longer and hasn't gotten bigger, it's turning less of that energy into radio power.

ridgeguy 8y ago
If beam-steering antennas are used in 5G handsets [1], the handset will beam-form a more narrow, higher ERP antenna pattern to improve transmit and receive performance if a body part gets between handset and base station. This would increase power density at the intervening tissue. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/a-beam-steering-antenna-for-real-world-mobile-phones https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/a-beam-...
mcbits 8y ago
Old analog cell phones used about three times as much power, but the frequencies were lower and the antennas were held farther from the head. The old tower transmitters used more power but were much less densely distributed than today and especially tomorrow. Assuming microwaves do have the potential to cause some kind of damage (beyond simple heating with absorption), the power level would be only one factor and possibly not the most important one.
lmilcin 8y ago
There is misconception that all radiation and all patterns of it is the same. Comparing output power is largely useless because what is really important is how it affects body and this depends on very many factors, not all doses are the same. For example, standing in full sunlight might not be a problem normally unless you stand for entire day and get burned (extended exposure without allowing the body the time to repair) or maybe the sunlight gets concentrated by a lens and burns your finger without changing total exposure to sun (concentrated in space) or maybe gets somehow converted to UV (concentrated to restrict wavelengths to hit specific molecules reacting with UV) or stored as energy in the form of oil and released quickly when burning (concentrated in time). The first cellphones where much larger devices placing the source of the radiation further away from your body. They were also omnidirectional making sure that the maximum density of the field was low. New devices use beam forming which means it sometimes hits with a dense wave travelling through your body as if it was a sunlight concentrated with a lens. Also, new cellphones are much better transmitters with much better control of the spectrum to maximise the power at a specific frequency. It further exacerbates the effect meaning if the beam interacts with something in the body it interacts much more strongly, again, akin to the concentrating lens. With old cellphone everything would be getting warmer a bit, with newer ones it may come into much stronger interactions because it may do it much more selectively (in space, time and choice of a molecule it interacts with).