Re: Ricochet and various wireless (was: Re: [PLUG] key-signingThursday?)

[Sandi Jonas <laserhen@speakeasy.net>]

Fred K Ollinger wrote:
> 
> > Water has a simple atmonic structure.  Human cells are complex and may
> 
> True, but if the radiation were really high water would boil, IMHO.
> 

Well, people are mostly just water, as are other creatures. Which is why
it's a bad (and cruel) idea to put small pets into the microwave to dry
them off after a bath. 

> > be more susceptible to the radiation.  Since we don't have any hard data
> 
> Totally true. In fact there is not level of radiation that is 'safe' where
> safe means it causes no damage. There are govt approved levels that are
> 'safe' just b/c people recognize the need that we want to have the
> benefits of things that will definately give off 'some' radiation.
> 

Actually, in many cases, radiation is not only safe, but it's good.
Without radiation, we wouldn't have life. In fact, people (and all other
living critters) are biologically designed (through evolution) to take
advantage of certain levels of certain EM radation, and have built-in
defences (such as melanin) for the relatively harmful ones. EM radiation
in the visible spectrum is good, and we are programmed to interpret it
as color, which is also good. All radiation has some energy associated
with it, which is also necessary for life. People are most sensitive to
yellow light, which is good, because that helps program us to not look
directly at the sun (which would blind us, not through mutation with
yellow light, but through burning the retina with power output, and also
because it does emit high frequency radiation). This is also why many
caution-style road signs are yellow, so that we can see them most
easily. Dark-adjusted, we are most sensitive to yellowish-green. 

> I wonder if microwaves cause mutations. I bet it does.
> 

Absolutely not. Mutations are caused by high frequency (ultraviolet and
higher) radiation. Microwaves are very certainly infrared. By
definition, "micro" firmly implies infrared (where red is "nano"). Red
is about 640 nanometers, if I recall correctly, which is a much smaller
wavelength that something in the micrometer range. Red light is
therefore much more energetic (that is, higher frequency) than
microwaves (remember... small wavelength, high frequency, high energy),
and red light doesn't cause mutation. It can burn stuff (think about why
you don't shine the laser pointer in your eye) but it doesn't mutate
cells and cause cancer. That damage to your retina is caused by high
power output into a small cross-section (your eye), and is not a
mutation effect. Very high frequency (small wavelength) radiation is
needed for this. Mutations occur when DNA strands are broken, and
microwaves (as well as nanowaves) are simply too big to do this. 

> > on the radiation levels, I guess were a part of the on-going experiment.
> >  (I'm refering to wireless phones mostly.)
> 
> I'm sure that Gabriel or some other engineering type at a uni can get a
> gieger counter and check this. Or am I confused? Would this work?
> 

A Geiger counter wouldn't be the best choice. They are used to measure
output from radioactive isotopes (which is a different topic
alltogether), not EM radiation. A power output meter is better, as it
would measure the power output at a certain distance over a certain
cross-sectional area. I have used both in my labs, but I doubt Widener
will let me borrow them. I suppose I could drag my microwave and my 2.4
GHz phone into the lab, but I don't want to do that either. For what
it's worth, I haven't had problems using either of them, even when both
are running. I wouldn't be surprised if, intermittantly, I did have
problems, particularly if I'm trying to cook in the microwave and talk
on the phone at the same time. 

Sandi

**********************************************************************
Sandra Jean Schmidt-Jonas | http://www.laserhen.net
"Study and, in general, the pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of
activity in which we are permitted to remain children all of our lives."
--Albert Einstein
**********************************************************************

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