Cell Phone Radiation: Non-ionizing Radiation, SAR Level

Past two decades were the decades of cell phones. During these years the technology revolution in cell phones made every person on planet have access to cell phones. Smart phones with touch screen are the latest one of them. Now a discussion is happening all over the world about radiation produced by these cell phones and if it is harmful for our body. Non-Ionizing Radiation and SAR level are the most discussed issues among some health conscious groups. Here Betterhealthfacts.com will try to find if these radiation are harmful or not.

Every electrical or electronic equipment is capable of making some electromagnetic radiation. The level of this radiation vary from device to device. The energy stored in a radiation is measured by its frequency. If the frequency is high then its called Ionizing Radiation and if the frequency is low then its called Non-Ionizing radiation. Ionizing Radiations are harmful, such as X-rays. Over exposure to ionizing radiation can cause cancer. Cell phones don't emit Ionizing radiation, but they emit Non-Ionizing radiation.

Non Ionizing Radiation by Cell Phones

Cell phones work on radio frequency, which comes under non-ionizing radiation. It ranges from 30 kilohertz to 300 gigahertz. This radio frequency can generate heat and heat-up any nearby object. Its example is microwave oven, where microwaves (300Mhz to 300Ghz) are used to heat food items in kitchen. But Microwave oven consume very high electricity to produce that heat. Sometimes our cell phones also heat up when we talk for longer duration, which is an effect of radio waves. It can easily heat up our ear as well. Researches are still on to find if these radio frequency waves can affect health of a person. Some researches have revealed that over exposure to this non-ionizing radiation can damage skin tissues by heating and photo-chemical reactions.The damage by this radiation to the human body depends on duration of exposure and frequency of radio waves. Some radio waves can penetrate deep into tissues and heat them up. If this heating is near brain (as we keep cellphones on our ear while talking), then it may do some harm to our health.

SAR Level

SAR is Specific Absorption Rate which is expressed in watts per kilogram (W/kg) taken over the volume containing a mass of 1 gram. It is a unit to tell how much radiation produced by a device will be absorbed by our body. In US SAR level of a device should be kept below 1.6 . You may check your cell phone's SAR level by dialing *#07# .  Usually most of the devices show Head SAR and Body SAR . Head SAR is the absorption rate by human head and Body SAR is absorption rate by Human Body.
Note: The head and brain of children can absorb more radiation from a cell phone, which is not mentioned in any phone manual. So try to keep kids away from your cell phone.

However cell phone manufacturers claim that their phones are safe but still we should take some safety precautions our self by reducing the cell phone usage. Men invented technology to use it as a slave, but now that technology has made us slave of its own. We can't think of a day without internet and cell phone. We should give ourselves a break sometimes and spend sometime with our family and friends, putting our cell phones away from us. Even if cell phone don't cause any disease, its better to live one day in a month without it. Try it ! Its a detox and better than living in a detox camp to get rid of internet addiction.