mimo2005

Cellphone Popcorn Party

Video1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAd0aWxs7kQ


Video2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg_dyD0Nsjw



more info:
http://kara.allthingsd.com/20080606/...popcorn-party/

Jack.Sparrow

Sucks, there's no pop corn in the cupboard or I was so going to try that

sinclair_tm

I don't buy it. The tables have to be a heated surface.

EnglishPaul

When you think of the distance and objects a phone signal has to travel through to get to the mast, they must exert quite a power.
I once heard someone liken mobile phones as the new cigarettes: They are probably causing us health problems for the future, but they are a device that we are not prepared to do without.

sinclair_tm

I'm not to sure about that, I'd sure like to do without it.

deejay100six

Hear, hear, but what a load of b----cks anyway.

MunkyPhil

Not necessarily, microwave ovens do not produce heat in any sense. Their targets gain energy that we percieve as heat by absorbing the microwaves. This can only be done by molecules with an uneven distribution of electron density (i.e. polar molecules like water). Phones work using radio waves, which are very close to microwaves in the EM spectrum (below). This means they're relatively similar in energy so it's not entirely surprising that radio waves work also.



Your friend is scare-mongering. Radio waves are very long wavelength which means they can carry their signal for very long distances without losing their energy. Also, phone signals are transmitted by loads of different transceivers/transmitters dotted all around everywhere, like in buildings and in the roofs of phone boxes. This keeps the signal strong and avoids any line of sight/signal quality reduction issues whilst keeping the overall power low, hence the small battery and long battery life. Yes, they are probably doing some damage to our cells but we are immersed in an invisible sea of EM radiation all the time, the phone signals aren't adding too much to that I think and we're already damaging ourselves with tv and radio signals anyway.

EnglishPaul

Thanks for the info MunkyPhil.

It would be interesting to find out how much energy in the radio spectrum we have around us now compared to say 100 years ago, and also compared to a third world country.
I suspect that the increase of radio tech: from radios, tv and satellite through to wifi and data links, has substantially changed what our western bodies are subjected to.
Man has quite a good track record of being slow to spot long term hazards: asbestos, x-rays, nuclear 'fall out', cigarettes, global warming. What makes us think that this is any different. Our bodies have adapted to damage from UV and light, but in Darwinian terms it takes a long time, and a lot of deaths.

I like my way of life, and I'm not calling to change it. But I also won't be surprised if there are a lot of subsequent issues for me and my children in 30years time.

MunkyPhil

Me neither, although it's difficult to predict long term hazards for new technology, and even more so to test for the effects. I suppose there's only really one way to find out. Incidentally, during the making of the first atomic bomb (the Manhatten Project) several people died from radiation poisoning after putting too much fissile material in one place. The eerie blue glow of ionisation was a clear cut sign of an untimely demise for some unfortunate souls so the effects have been known and ignored for the 'greater good' in some cases. The Oppenheimer quote in my sig was murmered at the first test (Trinity).

I feel safe in the knowledge though that there are standards that new tech has to meet, at least as far as emissions are concerned and as a result we'd never intentionally be subjected to anything close to harmful in the short term.

Overall, I'm not concerned.

EnglishPaul

I always thought that emissions standards were more to do with making sure item A didn't disrupt item B (not person B)! But I take your point.
Aside: A blue glow of ionisation; sounds interesting!

Deleted090308

Mobile phone emissions increase worm fertility

sinclair_tm

As a ham, I know a bit about waves, and as far as waves are concerned, the 1cm of a microwave is quite a bit different than the 1km of a radio wave. But with the thought process of waves that are close, then I should be able to pop the corn with the 70cm radio that I use all the time, but it doesn't work. It pops nothing, and I can push 6 watts with that radio, and I know cell phones don't even get that high. Microwave ovens work because they can not just make microwaves, but they also can direct and concentrate them, and to work, they need to be at 500 plus watts. Again a cell phone can't even reach this power. So I still think this is a set up.

MunkyPhil

You might be right there, I'm sure they're tested on biological matter though. IT would be quite reckless of manufacturers otherwise.

WereBo

Well, it's finally been claimed as a viral advert.....

Jack.Sparrow

And I'd just bought the pop corns ...

ashumann12

I know if a C.B. radio is putting out 100+ watts, touching the antenna can cause a smart burn.

sinclair_tm

But you wouldn't know that first hand, would you Adam, as it's not legal for a CB to put out more than 4 Watts.