Think of it like getting hit by a car (bad!) versus getting hit by a bike (probably okay!). (In case you forgot, atoms consist of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of tiny charge-carrying particles called electrons.) Knocking off an electron is bad: Ionizing radiation can kill cells, damage DNA, and cause mutations and cancer.īesides the kind of ultraviolet light that causes sunburn, though, almost none of the radiation we encounter on a daily basis - radio, microwaves, visible light - is ionizing. That is, it knocks off an electron, which changes the atom chemically. Is there actually a health threat here? Here’s our primer on how electromagnetic radiation does and doesn’t - mostly doesn’t - affect your health.ĭoesn’t ionize: Most of what we think of as “radiation” - the harmful stuff - has enough power to ionize atoms in your body. The Bay Area residents in question claim to have “electromagnetic hypersensitivity,” or E.H.S., “in which people claim that radiation from cellphones, WiFi systems or smart meters causes them to suffer dizziness, fatigue, headaches, sleeplessness or heart palpitations,” says the Times. ![]() The two groups have formed an unholy alliance bent on taking us back to a time before germ theory and/or women’s suffrage, and it’s all because they don’t know the first thing about physics.Īllergic to cordless phones: The smart meters in question use wi-fi to communicate with the utility company - the same thing your laptop uses when you’re at Starbucks - and some folks are concerned about electromagnetic radiation from the wireless signal. ![]() Smart meters are a revolutionary technology that could save money, save the planet, and enable a switch to renewable energy, so you’d think they’d be really popular with Californians, right? Except that California is also full of right-leaning tin-foil haberdashers and left-leaning hypochondriacs, says the New York Times.
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