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This is the way I look at it, there is a major source of ionizing radiation in the sky, known to cause cancer, it's powerful enough of a source that it can make your face feel hot, yet other than the heat of the battery my face has never gotten hot from a cell phone, so before I stop using my cell phone I'd stop going outside. I'd bet that the heat from the battery is actually more dangerous than the transmitter.

That radiation source, it's call the sun and outputs about 100W / sq meter in the visible / UV spectrum of which UV is ionizing. To compare a cell phone outputs about 500 milliwatts, or about 3 orders of magnitude difference in output.

The fact that you can charge your cell phone with a small solar cell is all you need to know about the differences in radiation.




Different frequencies of light have quite different effect.

Visible and UV light don't penetrate skin. Microwaves do.


Visible light penetrates the skin rather well. That's why you can see blood vessels and bruises and strong lights through closed eyelids.

UV penetrates the skin even better, and is by far the more dangerous of the three spectra you mentioned. That's why almost all animals produce melanin - the stuff that gives our skin, hair and eyes their color. It's nature's UV blocker.


Visible light definitely does penetrate the skin. A typical light bulb shines through your fingers, making the veins visible: http://www.flickr.com/photos/exquisitur/2699850137/


All light does penetrate to some degree. Some photons of light will penetrate steel if your source is bright enough. But it's a question of how much.


Yeah, this emphasis on cancer is strange. Since cell phone radiation is non-ionizing, I would be a lot more worried about all the potential health effects except cancer.




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