Possible dangers of power lines radiation, wi-fi and gsm technology [closed]

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I'd like to know more about the topic mentioned in the title. I have 3 questions. I'd be happy to hear your thoughts on any of those.

1. So if high voltage power lines can cause harm to a human in some way, what/how that would be? (and I don't mean by touching them causing the current to flow through the body) Same question goes for wi-fi and gsm technology.

2. How do we measure those potential dangers of power lines, wi-fi and gsm radiation? Is this basically the same or different measurement and quantities?

3. What is the difference between a possibly dangerous field around a power line and a field around a magnet? (what I want to suggest is that this is basically the same kind of field so if one is considered dangerous the then other is also, or am I missing something)

manpreet 2 years ago

If you are asking about cancers such as leukemia the general consensus in the scientific and medical communities is that to date there is no evidence of increased risk due to exposure to high voltage powerlines, mobile phones or wifi.

The main risks around high voltage power lines are due to high electric field gradients, especially at close vicinity such as adjacent to poles carrying high voltage cables. The danger is referred to as 'step voltage', which is the voltage between a persons feet when standing beneath a powerline. Engineers can calculate this voltage under normal operating conditions and design the powerlines to be high enough to be within safe limits at ground level. Under fault conditions, such as a short circuit, fallen line or lightning strike, the risks are significantly greater.

Most Wifi systems produce electromagnetic radiation in the 2.4GHz or 5 GHz frequency band. The energy levels are quite low and no evidence to date has been produced to prove any increased risk to human health.

Mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiation similar to wifi but at slightly lower frequencies (typically 900MHz or 1800MHz). The energy levels are therefore lower than wifi, although the effect of pressing a mobile phone up against the side of ones head for hours a day is not well understood what risks if any the additional heat might pose on the brain.

Electromagnetic radiation from wifi and mobile phones can be detected with a dipole antenna connected to a suitably tuned electronic amplifier circuit.

High voltage power lines generally transmit electrical power at high voltages and low currents, in order to minimize losses due to joule heating of the lines over long distances. These losses are proportional to the square of the current, so lower currents are preferred to minimize losses. As such, high voltage power lines don't produce high magnetic fields, except during fault conditions such as short circuit ground faults, which are usually interrupted by circuit breakers within a few seconds of the fault.