(classic orchestral music)
- Are you there Brain
Stuff? It's me, Lauren.
Do you ever think about
how with wireless internet
floating all around us that
we're all just wading through
gigabytes of html, MP3's,
.jpegs, first person shooters,
and entire videos, like this one.
Even if you don't have a
router, and avoid the library,
and your local coffee
shop, WiFi is everywhere.
So your next question might be,
whether all that WiFi is safe or not.
First, the term WiFi just
means a Wireless Network,
not Wireless Fidelity.
Common misconception.
These wireless networks translate
data into radio signals,
and then transmits and receives
those signals via antennas.
So, WiFi is made of radio waves.
These are part of the
broad range of frequencies
that make up the electromagnetic spectrum.
We know that some
radiation on that spectrum,
like gamma rays, x-rays,
or high frequency ultraviolet
light, can be dangerous.
These waves are known
as ionizing radiation.
They are so high in energy that,
they can break apart
atoms and damage our DNA.
But, the non-ionizing wave lengths
are too low in energy to
ionize atoms or molecules.
Since radio waves, like WiFi,
are non-ionizing they tend to be safe.
WiFi is most often transmitted
at a frequency of 2.4 GHz,
about the same as most microwave ovens.
For comparison, a light bulb
emits non-ionizing radiation
up to 400 nano-meters,
which converts to, hold on,
(calculating beeps)
749,481 GHz.
That makes light bulbs over
62,000 times stronger than WiFi.
Wireless network routers also
broadcast further distances,
than microwave ovens, which is important,
because every time you
double the distance of
a radio wave you get only
a quarter of its energy.
That's the Inverse-Square Law of Physics.
Which means WiFi's
intensity drops off sharply,
the further you get from
a device emitting it.
Despite WiFi being broadcast
at this safe frequency,
there are some controversial
health concerns
associated with the radiation it emits.
And while there is no definitive link,
the World Health Organization
does recognize some studies
show preliminary connections
between these types
of radiation and human illness.
They categorize it as
a Class 2B Carcinogen,
something possibly carcinogenic,
in humans at given exposures.
Scientists continue to
do research in this area,
but your actual wireless
internet connection
doesn't seem to be harmful.
And, if you're still concerned
your other option is to
wrap yourself up in aluminum foil,
to keep a few of those frequencies at bay.
No, really, aluminum foil
creates a sort of Faraday cage,
which disrupts electromagnetic signals.
