TSP 5043 (CURRENT TRENDS & ISSUES IN SCIENCE EDUCATION)

PREPARED FOR: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR MARIA SALIH

Electromagnetic wave is the radiation consisting of waves of energy associated with electric and magnetic fields resulting from the acceleration of an electric charge.

We should know that all station of radiation use electromagnetic waves where electromagnetic waves are transverse waves that travel at the speed of light, c.

Introduction Introduction

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, including Radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared, Visible light, Ultraviolet, X-rays and Gamma rays.

The spectrum with long wavelength is radio waves (more than 106nm) and Gamma rays is the shortest wavelength (less than 0.01nm).

We have all heard of the threats we face from pesticides in our food and water, from acid rain, from holes in the ozone, from toxic waste that can't be safely disposed of. But what about electromagnetic energy fields?

Yes, electromagnetic fields of all kinds are becoming a growing threat to our health and well-being. And unlike some forms of pollution, electromagnetic pollution exists virtually everywhere.

Twenty-four hours a day we are exposed to an alarming array of harmful electromagnetic fields.

Inside our homes, we are zapped by:

Hair dryers Electric jugs Water heaters TV Radios Desktop computers Laptop computers Vacuum cleaners Microwave ovens

Outside our home, we are zapped by:

Communication dishes Industrial machines TV transmitters high

tension power lines and transformers

Broadcast frequencies from radio and TV

Hand phone towers Electromagnetic fields

generated by cars

Hand Phones Microwaves Oven Radiation from Emitter

Station Television

o Disclosure to antenna continuously will get emit radiation to our body, normally involved head.

o The signals sent out while users are communicating through their hand phones can attract lightning bolts.

o If a people who talking hand phone for a long period, this person has higher possible feels headache.

o Electromagnetic caused brain cancer.

A lecturer from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Dr Ishak Arif told Berita Harian that hand phones used radio frequencies electromagnetic waves of between 9,900MHz and 1.2GHz, while 3G phones used 3GHz or more.

He said lightning that carried thousands of volts could pass through a person within seconds, resulting in instant death. Dr. Ishak advised hand phone users to switch them off during thunderstorms. At the same time, hand phone casings that have metal parts can also attract lightning.

British Medical Journal Of The Risk Of Using Hand Phones Outdoor During

Stormy Weather.

Three doctors describe the case of a 15 year old girl who was struck by lightning while using hand phones in a large park in London during stormy. She was resuscitated, but unfortunately one year later she suffered complex physical, cognitive and emotional problems.

Explanation:If someone is struck by lightning, the high resistance of human skin results in lightning being conducted over the skin without entering the body.

They found three cases reported in newspapers in China, Korea, and Malaysia, all resulting in death.

They show how to cook an egg with hand phones. It is possible to boil an egg by using the radiation that is emitted by our hand phones.

Result:At the 65-minute, one of the cell phones ran out of power, they cracked open the egg and found it was cooked to the equivalent of a soft boil.

Explanation:The secret of this impossible case is in the electromagnetic wave that the hand phones radiate.

I was started worry about is they my brain starting to cook slowly, this is because I am one of the person who use hand phone for long period in a day.

As for now, we really don't know whether hand phone waves can cause any cancer.

1. Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio team2. Australia team 3. Veterans Affairs Medical Center in California team

Used mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to brain tumors. They exposed the sample to microwaves for 20 hours a day for 18 months;

Result:They saw no increases in tumor rates.

The Australia team is reserving judgment about the cancer link until researchers in Australia have repeated the original experiment using the same strain of mice and exposure conditions.

An even happier outcome would be if microwaves turned out to be good for you.

They found that mice exposed to electromagnetic for two hours a day

Result:Were less likely to develop brain

tumors

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic energy, like light waves or radio waves, and occupy a part of the electromagnetic spectrum of power, or energy.

Microwaves are very short waves of electromagnetic energy that travel at the speed of light (186,282 miles per second).

In microwaves, these polarity changes happen millions of times every second. Food molecules, especially the molecules of water, have a positive and negative end in the same way a magnet has a north and a south polarity.

As the microwaves generated from the magnetron bombard the food, they cause the polar molecules to rotate at the same frequency, millions of times a second. It creates molecular friction, which heats up the food.

The friction also causes substantial damage to the surrounding molecules, often tearing them apart or forcefully deforming them. The scientific name for this deformation is structural isomerism.

Microwaves from the sun are based on principles of pulsed direct current (DC) that do not create frictional heat; microwave ovens use alternating current (AC) creating frictional heat.

A microwave oven produces a spiked wavelength of energy with all the power going into only one narrow frequency of the energy spectrum.

Production of unnatural molecules is inevitable. Naturally occurring amino acids undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing), as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens.

The bottle may seem cool to the touch, but the liquid inside may become extremely hot and could burn the baby's mouth and throat.

The buildup of steam in a closed container, such as a baby bottle, could cause it to explode.

Heating the bottle in a microwave can cause slight changes in the milk.

Dr. Lita Lee of Hawaii reported in the December 9, 1989 Lancet:

"Microwaving baby formulas converted certain trans-amino acids into their synthetic cis-isomers. Synthetic isomers, whether cis-amino acids or trans-fatty acids, are not biologically active. Further, one of the amino acids, L-proline, was converted to its d-isomer, which is known to be neurotoxic (poisonous to the nervous system) and nephrotoxic (poisonous to the kidneys). It's bad enough that many babies are not nursed, but now they are given fake milk (baby formula) made even more toxic via microwaving."

The case involved a hip surgery patient, Norma Levitt, who died from a simple blood transfusion. It seems the nurse had warmed the blood in a microwave oven.

In the case of Mrs. Levitt, the microwaving altered the blood and it killed her.

This form of microwave radiation "heating" does something to the substances it heats. It's also becoming quite apparent that people who process food in a microwave oven are also ingesting these "unknowns".

Because the body is electrochemical in nature, any force that changes human electrochemical events will affect the physiology of the body

Microwaved food contains both molecules and energies not present in food cooked in the way humans have been cooking food since the discovery of fire.

Microwaves are produced from alternating current and force a billion or more polarity reversals per second in every food molecule they hit.

Naturally occurring amino acids have been observed to undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing) as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens.

One short-term study found significant and disturbing changes in the blood of individuals consuming microwaved milk and vegetables.

Eight volunteers ate various combinations of the same foods cooked different ways. All foods that were processed through the microwave ovens caused changes in the blood of the volunteers. Hemoglobin levels decreased and over all white cell levels and cholesterol levels increased.

Luminescent (light-emitting) bacteria were employed to detect energetic changes in the blood. Significant increases were found in the luminescence of these bacteria when exposed to blood serum obtained after the consumption of microwaved food.

Radiation from emitter station

1) Topic : Hidup Bawah Pancaran Maut Date : 10th April 2008 Author : Helmy Abd Rahman

- Profesor Bersekutu Fakulti Perubatan (UITM), Prof Madya Dr Adlina Suleiman with her 10 students told about the effect of radiation from emitter telecommunication tower to residents at Taman Subang.

- Taman Subang residents’ exposure to high risk of cancer and other chronic diseases because they live nearest to the emitter telecommunication tower.

- She did a research involved residents that lives around 120m from that tower and living population divided into 3 zones. Radius A (distance of 40m), Radius B (distance of 80m) and Radius C (distance of 120m).

ArticleArticle

2) Kesatuan Eropah (EU) called Reflex showed that maybe involved electromagnetic radiation with low frequency (EMF) could damage human chromosomes, change the activities of the gens and increases the cell division.

That means here, a person who get the cancer at the early stage has a possibility to die if entered drastically area of Taman Subang with the increasing of cell through EMF waves increases the cell division.

With more than 50 antennas and electromagnetic waves disks at that tower, so many EMF waves will be absorbed by the residents every day.

The position between the tower and house is only about 10m. This appears the question among people because the rule stated by Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO) is 150m.

Topic : The Impacts of Radiofrequency Radiation

from Mobile Phone Antennas Reported by : Lyn McLean Date : 30 August 2008.

This report addresses the evidence for the impact of radiofrequency from mobile phone antennas on people’ health and well-being.

Mobile phone antennas emit high frequency (radiofrequency) radiation that differs from naturally-occurring radiation in frequency and characteristics of the signal.

Literature ReviewLiterature Review

Scientific evidence of harmful effects of mobile phone tower radiation involved: peer-reviewed scientific studies that

have identified adverse effects on populations living near mobile phone towers.

Zwamborn, 2003

Reported about :a study by the Dutch Technical Research Institute (TNO) found that volunteers exposed to a signal simulating exposure from 3G (UTMS) antenna experienced adverse effects on well-being.

Roosli, 2004

Reported about:found that the percentages of sleeps disorder (58%), headaches (41%), and nerveousness or distress (19%), fatigue (18%), and concentration difficulties were most common complaints.

Bortkiewicz, 2004

Reported about:people living in the vicinity of base stations report various complaints mostly of the circulatory system, but also of sleep disturbances, irritability, depression, blurred vision, concentration difficulties, nausea, lack of appetite, headaches and vertigo.

3) Reported by : Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM), Jan—Oct 2008 Reported on : 5 November 2008.

Case: Received 66 reports about telecommunication tower that placed nearest to the people community and residents getting worried about their health.

Relationship of Frequency Radiation and

Telecommunication Devices

Relationship of Frequency Radiation and

Telecommunication Devices

For example, when emitter station emit electromagnetic waves radiation at radio waves spectrum, the wavelength, λ is more than 106nm which is the largest wavelength and gives the lower energy produced by the radiation.

It is proved by the Planck-Einstein equation: E=hf, where f=c/λ. So, when the wavelength of the radiation is higher, the frequency is lower, so it will emit at the lower energy.

Lower frequency means it is safe when radiation used in radio waves but if the emitter station placed nearer to the living house it will affect human health.

Therefore, the distance and height of emitter station between living houses is very important to be considered to make people feel safety.

How does emitter station works?

Images and sound on the television involving the transmission of radiofrequency radiation (105 – 1011Hz) from the transmitter to the television set.

Then television will transform the wave into images and sounds so that we can enjoy our television program.

A television has a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) and two or more anodes. This cathode C is enclosed inside a glass tube.

The cathode emits rays of electrons into the empty space inside the tube.

The interaction between the electrons and the screen can potentially create low-level x-rays.

What we might not know is, we may be getting exposed to low levels of x-ray radiation.

This unintentional emission of x-rays can pose a potential hazard and must be controlled.

Unlike microwaves, radio waves, and visible light, x-rays are a form of ionizing radiation.

It is to remove electrons from atoms and damaging living cells and the DNA of those cells.

According to CAP, television radiation may cause negative effects.

They wrote that Daniel Reid in his book Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity said that;

the uncertain light from television will stimulate an uncertain activity of retina.

CAP also state that Dr. H.D. Youmans from Bureau of Radiological Health (BRH) in Associated Press 1970 said that x-ray produced by television may cause eye, testis and bone marrow cells damages.

Scientists work from the premise that no amount of radiation is safe.

Scientists have not identified specific health effects resulting from exposure to extremely low doses of low-level radiation over prolonged periods of time.

However, the current assumption is that there is no threshold of exposure below which x-rays may not adversely effects human health.

It is advisable, therefore, that x-ray from TV sets, as well as other commonly used electronic products, be kept as low as reasonably achievable.

There are two simple steps we can do to avoid being exposed to radiation from television.

Limit the time spent around the TV;

Increase the distance between you and the television set. FDA advises sitting a distance of at least two to three feet from the screen to limit exposure.

Since life on earth is bathed constantly in all forms of electromagnetic radiation, people especially scientists must be aware of the potential risks, as well as benefits of exposures to electromagnetic waves.

In educational field, this issue can be interesting for student to know well about how electromagnetic wave can be applied in everyday life.

Increasing the awareness for citizen especially student about hazardous electromagnetic wave and how to reduce the effect with application that gain from Physics syllabus.

While we should all be concerned about how much ourselves and our children are exposed to harmful electromagnetic fields, we don't need to feel powerless.

In the public arena, you can demand for this problem to be squarely addressed by government, science and industry.

Personally, you can take a look around your home and offices and design things in such a way that you minimize your exposure to electromagnetic energy.

• Don't sleep under electric blankets or on a waterbed. Both of these products generate a constant stream of electromagnetic energy that quietly saturates your body for long periods of time. You should also relocate any electric wires that might be running under your bed.

• Sit at least 3 meters away from televisions. Generally, the bigger the screen, the further away you should sit. A gauss meter can tell you how far the harmful field extends for a particular television .

• Avoid standing too close to microwave ovens when they are in use move about 3 meters away. Better still, leave the room. Unplug your microwave when not in use. (Consider getting rid of your microwave altogether, as some studies also indicate they alter food in a way that is harmful to our bodies.)

None of the recent reviews have concluded that exposure to the Radiofrequency fields from hand phones, microwaves oven, television or their emitter stations causes any adverse health consequence.

However, there are gaps in knowledge that have been identified for further research to better assess health risks.

It will take some years for the required radiofrequency research to be completed, evaluated and to publish the final results of any health risks.