ARE
CELL
PHONES
REALLY
FRYING
OUR
BRAINS???
By
Mac
Eckert
What
is
radiation?
Radiation
is
energy
that
travels.
Even
the
radiation
logo
to
the
right
shows
this.
It
is
a
symbol
of
a
particle
that
is
emitting
energy
in
all
directions.
What
are
the
different
types
of
radiation?
All
radiation
will
pass
through
various
materials.
Non­ionizing
radiation
doesn’t
affect
the
materials
that
it
passes
through.
Light
and
radio
waves
are
types
of
non‐ionizing
radiation.
When
you
shine
a
flashlight
through
your
hand,
it
doesn’t
affect
your
body.
Also,
radio
waves
pass
through
your
body
all
the
time
(so
that
we
can
listen
to
music
:‐).
The
more
dangerous
type
of
radiation
is
called
ionizing
radiation
because
it
DOES
affect
the
material
that
it
passes
through.
It
creates
charged
particles
in
the
materials
called
ions.
Gamma
rays,
x‐rays,
cosmic
rays,
lasers,
and
rays
from
the
sun
are
all
types
of
ionizing
radiation.
This
is
why
you
get
a
tan.
Fun.
High
voltage
electronic
devices
create
a
lot
of
ionizing
radiation,
which
is
why
you
will
see
a
radiation
symbol
like
the
one
above
on
them
(CD/DVD
players,
X‐ray
machines,
TVs,
smoke
detectors,
etc.).
What
is
background
radiation?
Background
radiation
is
the
ionizing
radiation
that
is
normally
produced
by
our
environment.
It
is
mostly
gamma
rays
that
come
from
outer
space
(cosmic
rays)
or
from
the
radioactive
materials
around
us
and
in
the
earth.
For
example,
concrete
buildings
emit
more
radiation
than
wood
buildings.
If
you
live
in
Colorado
(USA),
there
is
more
background
radiation
because
there
is
more
radioactive
rock
underneath
the
Earth
in
that
part
of
the
world.
What
is
a
radiation
dosimeter?
A
radiation
dosimeter
is
a
device
that
can
measure
ionizing
radiation.
Some
expensive
ones
have
screens
that
show
you
exactly
how
much
radiation
is
produced.
Other
ones,
like
the
one
I
am
using
(from
Russia),
measure
radiation
using
beeps
and
blinking
lights.
What
is
the
normal
background
radiation
in
Cambridge?
In
Cambridge,
we
have
about
0.15
µSv/hr
(microsievert/hour).
Why
should
you
be
aware
of
the
ionizing
radiation
around
you?
Simple.
Because
our
bodies
can’t
detect
it,
yet
it
can
cause
severe
damage
to
our
health.
As
a
result,
people
who
work
with
radiation,
such
as
doctors
who
use
radiotherapy,
lab
workers,
nuclear
power
plant
workers,
and
HAZMAT
teams
have
to
wear
radiation
dosimeters
to
measure
how
much
radiation
they
absorb
so
that
they
can
ensure
that
they
don’t
absorb
too
much.
These
radiation
dosimeters
are
usually
badges
that
you
pin
to
your
shirt
and
look
like
the
one
to
the
right.
The
badges
contain
crystals
that
absorb
radiation.
At
the
end
of
each
day,
they
take
the
crystals
out
of
the
badge
and
spin
them
around
very
fast
until
they
give
off
a
flash.
The
brightness
of
the
flash
tells
us
how
much
radiation
that
the
person
absorbed
during
the
day.
If
it
is
too
much,
then
the
worker
is
usually
told
to
stay
home
for
a
few
days
and
drink
lots
of
water
to
flush
any
radiation
that
collects
in
the
kidneys.
Also,
the
total
amount
of
radiation
absorbed
by
the
person
is
monitored
carefully
to
ensure
that
they
don’t
go
over
the
maximum
yearly
limit
of
20
mSv/yr
(which
is
the
same
as
20000
uSv/yr).
Cell
phones
today
can
do
much
more
than
just
make
phone
calls.
They
can
browse
the
Internet,
send
emails
and
text
message.
Plus,
they
keep
getting
faster
and
more
powerful.
As
a
result,
many
people
are
worried
today
that
cell
phone
radiation
is
bad
for
your
health
since
cell
phones
today
have
high
voltage
radio
transmitters
(see
picture
to
the
right).
These
transmitters
can
create
some
ionizing
radiation
close
to
the
phone
(where
you
put
your
head!).
Faster
phones
(i.e.
3G)
have
much
more
powerful
transmitters,
and
can
produce
more
ionizing
radiation.
I
remember
reading
an
article
on
Google
News
about
cell
phone
radiation
a
few
months
ago,
and
there
is
an
organization
called
www.EWG.org
that
warned
people
about
using
certain
types
of
cell
phones
like
Blackberries.
My
Hypothesis:
I
think
that
cell
phones
generate
ionizing
radiation
when
they
make
phone
calls
or
browse
the
Internet.
I
also
think
that
the
amount
of
radiation
generated
will
depend
on
the
type
of
cell
phone
and
whether
the
cell
phone
is
making
a
phone
call
or
using
data
(i.e.
browsing
the
Internet,
texting,
emailing).
According
to
Bell
Canada,
using
data
on
your
cell
phone
generates
more
traffic.
As
a
result,
I
think
that
using
data
such
as
browsing
the
Internet,
will
generate
more
ionizing
radiation
too.
Since
new
cell
phones
are
much
more
complex
than
old
cell
phones,
I
also
think
that
new
cell
phones
emit
just
as
much
radiation
as
old
ones
or
even
more.
Materials:
To
do
this
experiment,
you
need
to
have
the
following:
• A
radiation
dosimeter
that
measures
ionizing
radiation
by
producing
beeps
and/or
blinking
lights
(I
am
using
a
Kvarts
model
DRSB‐01)
• A
stop
watch
(or
a
stop
watch
program
for
your
PC/Mac)
• Life
insurance
• A
bunch
of
cell
phones
from
your
friends
and
family.
Here
is
a
picture
of
the
phones
that
I
am
testing:
They
all
have
Internet
access
except
for
the
Motorola
Classic
II
(an
old
“brick”
cell
phone
that
I
wanted
to
include
to
see
if
older
cell
phones
produced
more
or
less
ionizing
radiation).
The
size
(height,
width)
of
each
phone
compared
to
each
other
in
these
pictures
are
about
the
same
as
in
reality.
The
Motorola
Classic
II
is
extremely
heavy
and
about
5
years
older
than
me
:‐)
Procedure/Method:
To
measure
the
background
radiation
produced,
do
the
following
steps:
1) Turn
on
the
radiation
dosimeter
and
hold
it
in
the
air.
2) Set
your
stop
watch
(or
free
stopwatch
application
on
your
PC/Mac)
to
count
down
from
10
seconds.
3) Start
the
stop
watch
countdown
while
listening
to
the
radiation
dosimeter.
4) Record
the
number
of
beeps
produced
during
the
10
second
countdown.
5) Perform
Steps
1‐4
two
more
times.
6) Take
the
average
of
the
three
numbers
that
you
recorded
(add
them
up
and
divide
by
3).
This
number
should
represent
the
normal
background
radiation
in
Cambridge
(which
we
already
know
is
about
0.15
µSv/hr
according
to
the
Internet).
To
measure
the
ionizing
radiation
made
by
phone
calls,
do
the
following
steps
for
each
of
the
cell
phones
that
you
want
to
test:
1) Turn
on
the
radiation
dosimeter
and
hold
it
next
to
a
cell
phone
“back‐to‐back”
(the
back
of
the
radiation
dosimeter
should
be
held
to
the
back
of
the
cell
phone).
2) Enter
your
home
phone
number
on
the
cell
phone
but
do
not
press
the
Send
button
yet
(make
sure
that
no
one
is
home
so
that
it
keeps
ringing
during
the
experiment).
3) Set
your
stop
watch
(or
free
stopwatch
application
on
your
PC/Mac)
to
count
down
from
10
seconds.
4) At
the
same
time,
press
the
Send
button
on
the
cell
phone
and
start
the
stop
watch
countdown
while
listening
to
the
radiation
dosimeter.
5) Record
the
number
of
beeps
produced
during
the
10
second
countdown.
6) Perform
Steps
1‐5
two
more
times.
7) Take
the
average
of
the
three
numbers
that
you
recorded
(add
them
up
and
divide
by
3).
This
number
should
represent
the
radiation
that
was
detected
by
the
radiation
dosimeter
during
the
phone
call.
To
measure
the
ionizing
radiation
made
by
data
(browsing
the
Internet),
do
the
following
steps
for
each
of
the
cell
phones
that
you
want
to
test:
1) Turn
on
the
radiation
dosimeter
and
hold
it
next
to
a
cell
phone
“back‐to‐back”
(the
back
of
the
radiation
dosimeter
should
be
held
to
the
back
of
the
cell
phone).
2) Open
the
Internet
web
browser
on
your
phone
and
type
in
the
address
www.ebay.com
(which
takes
more
than
10
seconds
to
load),
but
do
not
press
the
Go/Search
button
yet.
3) Set
your
stop
watch
(or
free
stopwatch
application
on
your
PC/Mac)
to
count
down
from
10
seconds.
4) At
the
same
time,
press
the
Go/Search
button
on
the
cell
phone
and
start
the
stop
watch
countdown
while
listening
to
the
radiation
dosimeter.
5) Record
the
number
of
beeps
produced
during
the
10
second
countdown.
6) Perform
Steps
1‐5
two
more
times.
7) Take
the
average
of
the
three
numbers
that
you
recorded
(add
them
up
and
divide
by
3).
This
number
should
represent
the
radiation
that
was
detected
by
the
radiation
dosimeter
when
the
web
page
for
eBay
was
loading.
Observations:
# of beeps in 10 seconds
Experiment
Experiment
Experiment
#1
#2
#3
Background
radiation
Phone
BlackBerry 8830
BlackBerry 8120
BlackBerry 7250
iPhone 3GS
Samsung Impact
Nokia N71
Motorola Classic II
Phone
BlackBerry 8830
BlackBerry 8120
BlackBerry 7250
iPhone 3GS
Samsung Impact
Nokia N71
2
1
3
Average
2
# of beeps in 10s when making a phone call
Experiment
Experiment
Experiment
#1
#2
#3
6
5
7
6
6
8
3
3
4
3
3
3
2
3
3
3
4
3
5
4
4
Average
6.0
6.7
3.3
3.0
2.7
3.3
4.3
# of beeps in 10s when browsing the
Internet
Experiment
Experiment
Experiment
#1
#2
#3
6
8
6
7
8
7
4
5
4
4
5
5
3
3
3
5
4
4
Average
6.7
7.3
4.3
4.7
3.0
4.3
Results
and
Analysis:
As
you
can
see
from
the
observations,
the
radiation
dosimeter
recorded
more
ionizing
radiation
when
making
a
phone
call
and
browsing
the
Internet
compared
to
normal
background
radiation
(2
beeps
in
10
seconds).
Also,
different
phones
produced
different
amounts
of
ionizing
radiation
(the
BlackBerry
8830
and
8120
generated
the
most
ionizing
radiation
and
the
Samsung
Impact
generated
the
least
ionizing
radiation).
Browsing
the
Internet
generated
more
ionizing
radiation
than
making
phone
calls.
In
my
experiment,
browsing
the
Internet
generated
3.0‐7.3
beeps
in
10
seconds,
but
making
phone
calls
resulted
in
2.7‐6.7
beeps
in
10
seconds.
For
each
individual
phone,
the
number
of
beeps
was
always
higher
for
browsing
the
Internet
compared
to
making
a
phone
call.
The
older
Motorola
Classic
II
cell
phone
did
not
generate
much
less
radiation
than
the
newer
phones
when
making
phone
calls.
It
was
in
the
middle.
The
Motorola
Classic
II
had
about
4.5
beeps
in
10
seconds
when
making
a
phone
call,
but
the
other
phones
ranged
from
2.7‐6.7
beeps
in
10
seconds.
Conclusion:
My
experiment
showed
me
that
cell
phones
definitely
generate
ionizing
radiation
when
they
make
phone
calls
or
browse
the
Internet,
and
that
Internet
browsing
generates
more
ionizing
radiation
than
making
phone
calls.
Also,
the
amount
of
ionizing
radiation
varies
according
to
the
type
of
cell
phone,
but
old
cell
phones
don’t
generate
much
less
radiation
than
newer
ones.
Application:
It
is
important
that
everyone
knows
about
the
fact
that
cell
phones
generate
ionizing
radiation
so
that
they
can
choose
how
much
they
use
their
own
cell
phone
or
whether
they
use
it
at
all.
Also,
knowing
that
different
cell
phones
produce
different
amounts
of
ionizing
radiation
is
good
to
know
so
that
people
can
research
the
amounts
of
radiation
produced
by
each
phone
at
the
Environmental
Working
Group
(www.ewg.org)
before
buying
one
so
that
they
know
the
risks
associated
with
each
phone.
However,
it
is
important
to
NOT
FREAK
OUT.
To
put
things
in
perspective,
let’s
compare
our
results
to
the
legal
limits
for
radiation
in
the
workforce.
Today,
it
is
considered
bad
if
you
absorb
more
than
20000
uSv
per
year.
1
year
=
8
765.81277
hours
20000
uSv
per
year
/
8765.81277
hours
year
=
2.28159105
uSv
per
hour
We
already
know
that
normal
background
radiation
in
Cambridge
is
about
0.15
uSv
per
hour
(which
is
about
2
beeps
in
10
seconds
on
the
radiation
dosimeter
used
in
my
experiement).
2.28159105
uSv
per
hour
/
0.15
uSv
per
hour
=
15.210607
So
to
be
very
bad
for
your
health,
cell
phones
would
need
to
produce
about
15
times
the
normal
background
radiation,
and
you
would
need
to
be
on
your
phone
24
hours
a
day
(which
means
that
only
certain
teenage
girls
and
boys
will
be
affected
;‐).
In
my
experiment,
the
most
ionizing
radiation
that
I
detected
was
about
3
times
the
normal
background
radiation
(the
BlackBerry
8120
had
7.3
beeps
in
10
seconds
for
browsing
the
Web,
which
is
7.3/2.0
=
3.65
times
the
normal
background
radiation).
References
(Where
I
got
my
information):
Radiation
information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation
http://www.epa.gov/rpdweb00/understand/ionize_nonionize.html
Background
radiation
information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Background_radiation
http://www.wisegeek.com/what‐is‐background‐radiation.htm
http://web.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/osradtraining/backgroundradiation/backgr
ound.htm
Radiation
dosimeter
information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosimetry
www‐naweb.iaea.org/nahu/dmrp/pdf_files/Chapter3.pdf
Kvarts
DRSB‐01
Manual
(the
radiation
dosimeter
that
I
used)
Radiation
limits
in
the
workplace
information:
http://www.hc‐sc.gc.ca/hl‐vs/iyh‐vsv/environ/expos‐eng.php
Cell
phone
radiation:
http://www.ewg.org/cellphone‐radiation
Background
radiation
in
Cambridge,
Ontario:
http://www.mindat.org/forum.php?read,15,164895,165796
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V7X‐
3VWKM6F‐
6&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1996&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=s
earch&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1205565949&_rerunO
rigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&
md5=02727d3685ceded1449e62284ce43e62
(Used
with
Access
Copyright
login
from
University
of
Waterloo)
Pictures
used
in
my
project
are
from
Google
images
(http://images.google.ca).
Coffee
used
during
my
project
is
from
Starbucks
(http://www.starbucks.com).
I
used
a
Mac
computer
to
type
this
up
using
Microsoft
Word.
I
crunched
the
numbers
and
made
the
graphs
using
Microsoft
Excel.