WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Is WiFi Safe?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and today's episode is a

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<v Speaker 1>classic from our previous host, Christian Sager. This one tackles

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<v Speaker 1>the question of whether WiFi signals are dangerous to we

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<v Speaker 1>humans who live increasingly among them. But just so you

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<v Speaker 1>don't panic spoiler alert, the answer is most likely nope,

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<v Speaker 1>are you there, brain Stuff, It's me Christian Sager. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you ever think about how, with wireless internet floating around us,

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<v Speaker 1>that we're all just waiting through gigabytes of HTML, MP three's, JPEG's,

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<v Speaker 1>first person shooters and entire podcasts like this one. Even

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't have a router and you avoid the

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<v Speaker 1>library and your local coffee shop, WiFi is everywhere, So

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<v Speaker 1>your next question might be whether all that WiFi is

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<v Speaker 1>safe or not? What is it? And how does it

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<v Speaker 1>affect a human body. Well, first, the term WiFi means

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<v Speaker 1>a wireless network, not wireless fidelity. That is a common misconception.

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<v Speaker 1>These wireless networks translate data into radio signals and then

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<v Speaker 1>transmit and receive those signals via antennas, so WiFi is

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<v Speaker 1>made of radio waves. These are part of the broad

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<v Speaker 1>range of frequencies that make up the electromagnetic spectrum. We

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<v Speaker 1>know that some radiation on that spectrum, like gamma rays,

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<v Speaker 1>X rays, or high frequency ultraviolet light, can be dangerous.

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<v Speaker 1>These waves are known as ionizing radiation. There's so high

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<v Speaker 1>an energy that they can break apart atoms and damage

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<v Speaker 1>our DNA, but the non ionizing wavelengths are too low

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<v Speaker 1>an energy to ionize atoms or molecules. Since radio waves

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<v Speaker 1>Likewifi are non ionizing, they tend to be safe. The

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<v Speaker 1>intensity of a WiFi signal is rather low. WiFi is

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<v Speaker 1>most often transmitted at a frequency of two point four

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<v Speaker 1>giga hurts, about the same as most microwave ovens. For comparison,

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<v Speaker 1>a lightbulb amidst non ionizing radiation up to four hundred nanometers,

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<v Speaker 1>which converts to hold on a second seven eighty one

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<v Speaker 1>giga hurts. That makes lightbulbs over sixty two thousand times

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<v Speaker 1>stronger than WiFi. Wireless network routers also broadcast further distances

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<v Speaker 1>than microwave ovens, which is important because every time you

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<v Speaker 1>double the distance of a radio wave, you only get

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<v Speaker 1>a quarter of its energy. That is called the inverse

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<v Speaker 1>square law of physics, which means Wifi's intensity drops off

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<v Speaker 1>sharply the further you get from a device emitting it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're still wondering why microwave ovens cook food, but

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<v Speaker 1>your WiFi router doesn't consider a microwave ovens walls, they're

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<v Speaker 1>specifically designed to reflect microwave radiation in very particular directions.

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<v Speaker 1>That creates interference between the waves. That results standing waves

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<v Speaker 1>which oscillate in place in particular parts of the microwave.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why sometimes your frozen dinner doesn't cook uniformly, especially

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<v Speaker 1>without a turntable. Now, despite WiFi being broadcast at this

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<v Speaker 1>safe frequency, there are some controversial health concerns associated with

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<v Speaker 1>the radiation it emits, and while there is no definitive link,

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<v Speaker 1>the World Health Organization also known as WHO, does recognize

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<v Speaker 1>that some studies show preliminary connections between these types of

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<v Speaker 1>radiation and human illness. They categorize it as a class

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<v Speaker 1>to be carcinogen, something possibly carcinogenic in humans at given exposures.

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<v Speaker 1>Cell phones in particular have been scrutinized. Some disputed studies

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<v Speaker 1>have also argued that children are more at risk from

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<v Speaker 1>devices that radiate radio waves or microwaves, or that electromagnetic

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<v Speaker 1>radiation is a risk factor for cancer into one eleven,

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<v Speaker 1>who also classified mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic, but to

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<v Speaker 1>date there's still isn't strong evidence, especially because it's difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to prove a link between long term tumor development and

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<v Speaker 1>radio frequency exposure. Scientists continue to do research in this area,

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<v Speaker 1>but your actual wireless Internet connection does not seem to

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<v Speaker 1>be harmful, and if you're still concerned, your other option

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<v Speaker 1>is to wrap yourself up in aluminum foil to keep

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<v Speaker 1>a few of these frequencies at bay. No, really, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not kidding. Aluminum foil creates a Faraday cage which disrupts

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<v Speaker 1>electromagnetic sixty. Today's episode was written by me and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Clang. For more on this lots of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit our home planet, howstuff Works dot com and for

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts. For my heart radio is the heart radio app,

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<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.