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> But I've always been skeptical that the human body would be completely unaffected by higher doses of non-ionizing radiation beyond baseline, for extended peri
by zenexer 4y ago
> But I've always been skeptical that the human body would be completely unaffected by higher doses of non-ionizing radiation beyond baseline, for extended periods of time.
Well, what would you consider to be baseline?
The overwhelming majority of the non-ionizing radiation that we experience comes in the form of visible and near-visible light. If you sit near a window all day, your baseline is going to be much higher than someone who sits in a gloomy, dark office. No amount of EMF fog from nearby electronics is going to come close to making up that difference.
According to NASA, the amount of energy reaching earth’s outer atmosphere from the sun is about 1360 W/m^2 for the portion of atmosphere directly facing the sun.[1] Most of that is non-ionizing, and some of it is filtered out, but that’s still a lot.
Another great example is a smartphone. If you use your phone for a few hours each day, the overwhelming majority of the non-ionizing radiation emitted comes from the screen, not the radio.
While you could theoretically exceed that dosage per square meter by, say, sticking your hand in a microwave oven, doing so would be fairly uncomfortable.
If we were to find that non-ionizing radiation causes problems at low doses (below where we perceive it as heat), it would have to be specific wavelengths, not just non-ionizing radiation in general.
[1]: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/EnergyBalance/page2.php https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/EnergyBalance/pag...
- nerdponx 4y ago> If we were to find that non-ionizing radiation causes problems at low doses (below where we perceive it as heat), it would have to be specific wavelengths, not just non-ionizing radiation in general. You're right. I was specifically focusing on radiation below visible and infrared wavelengths, which is what radar uses as far as I know, and that is being studied in the literature I referenced. Much of the focus in that research is on the possibility of electromagnetic fields activating voltage-gated calcium channels. Baseline in that case would be whatever we normally get from whatever natural sources might exist on Earth.