Non-Radioactive Radiation

[dingdao]

The problem with your experiment(s)? Is that you have created way, way too many variables to achieve any useful data.

What sort of EM? What are the wavelengths you are testing? Can you even test for them all?

Your experiment also ignores intensity, versus accumulation over time--- both of these issues have been shown to matter a great deal, and for different reasons.

For example: If you were exposed to short-wave UV at a high intensity, but only for a minute? Assuming you had eye protection, you'd get some burns on your exposed skin, likely some blistering, etc. Exposed hair may even change color (bleaching). Damaged hair follicles would lose their hair shaft, etc. Odds are, though, if it wasn't pretty much immediately fatal? Unless you got a secondary infection from damaged skin, you'd live, recover, and have no long term health effects.

Contrast to being exposed to long wave UV, in very low intensities, over a life time? The odds are, you'd experience elevated vitamin D production in your body, and perhaps, a slight increase in melanin production in your skin. Some small percentage of people so exposed, do develop skin cancer, though-- so there is measurable risk.

It matters which frequency of EM you are looking at, and how long a dose, and how intense it is too.

Ok, in formal terms: I want to measure the toxicity of the ambient level of EM radiation in a normal home.
What I proposed was a quick gut check.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Ok, in formal terms: I want to measure the toxicity of the ambient level of EM radiation in a normal home.
What I proposed was a quick gut check.

Okay, then. Use one petri dish as is-- but **covered** to avoid contaminants from other things.

Use the other dish, with a cover, but wrap with aluminum foil-- multiple layers. Then put into a metal box, say a small cash box, or ammo can, or other all-metal container. Attach a grounding strap to that box, and clamp the other end to a water-pipe. Or? Take an old 3 prong extension cord-- cut off the female (outlet) end-- strip back the wires. Cut short the black and white ones, leaving *just* the center, grounded wire-- cut enough so you have a nice long ground wire. Tape up the other two firmly, for safety. Attach the ground wire to your metal thingy. Plug it in. Viola! Grounded, neat and tidy.

The foil and box will eliminate most EM that is common around the home: TV signals, radio waves, WiFi, cellular towers, leaking microwaves, noisy electrical motors, etc.

What it won't do? Is block the really fast waves, Cosmic Rays, gamma rays, strong magnetic fields, super-long EM waves (greater than 10 meters in frequency), etc.

You can't really block Cosmic Rays-- not even the planet can do that! Gamma is really hard to block too-- takes several inches of really good lead (which is why atomic power plants use so much of it).

Strong magnetic fields? They are the absolute worst to try to block-- again, even deep into the earth itself, you'll be surrounded by them... from the earth itself!

Fortunately? Thousands of human-years of experiments with magnetic fields, have shown it has zero negative effect of Life, as We Know It. It's pretty safe to ignore magnetic stuff.

In truth? It's pretty safe to ignore Cosmic Rays, and Gamma too-- the first has been around since Life Began, and indeed, life seems to have evolved ways to deal. The second is so uncommon, that unless you are near a nuclear power plant, or have some gamma-emitting radioactive materials lying around? Ignore that too.

 

[dingdao]

I said it was the Science Fair version.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

I said it was the Science Fair version.

So? No reason *not* to do Quality Science, just because it's a fair.

 

[dingdao]

I'm not trying to put together peer review quality research, only trying to point out the basics.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I'm not trying to put together peer review quality research, only trying to point out the basics.

By the way, I like what you are doing here. Researching not just your topic but how to do an experiment is an important part of science.

 

[dingdao]

By the way, I like what you are doing here. Researching not just your topic but how to do an experiment is an important part of science.

Well, as a retired EE, it occurred to me that you were missing a obvious use of a Faraday shield, and at this point in my life, I really don't care if I receive credit in a scientific journal.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Well, as a retired EE, it occurred to me that you were missing a obvious use of a Faraday shield, and at this point in my life, I really don't care if I receive credit in a scientific journal.

Well... that's Different.

Demonstrate that a microwave oven IS a pretty good Faraday cage, then.

Get some sort of radiation detector-- doesn't have to be sophisticated, either. Something that would indicate if it had been bombarded by EM.

Put one sample in the grounded oven. Put the other sample next to it. Hit everything with your EM field.

See if the one in the oven shows measurable lower response.

Heck-- you could use your yeast, here-- bombarding yeast with actual microwaves will kill it, I would expect. Or with a UV lamp set on high. Or even a strong enough radio antenna... although you'd have to pick your frequencies carefully. Too long, and living material is utterly transparent, and isn't affected. But short enough, and it heats up-- living things don't like to be overheated... (unless they are extremophiles ... those little beasties can survive boiling acid-water..!!)

Maybe THAT could be your test? Find out how short the frequency needs to be, before noticeable effects on the yeast? Keep them all at the same power levels, to eliminate that part.

 

[dingdao]

Well... that's Different.

Demonstrate that a microwave oven IS a pretty good Faraday cage, then.

Get some sort of radiation detector-- doesn't have to be sophisticated, either. Something that would indicate if it had been bombarded by EM.

Put one sample in the grounded oven. Put the other sample next to it. Hit everything with your EM field.

See if the one in the oven shows measurable lower response.

Heck-- you could use your yeast, here-- bombarding yeast with actual microwaves will kill it, I would expect. Or with a UV lamp set on high. Or even a strong enough radio antenna... although you'd have to pick your frequencies carefully. Too long, and living material is utterly transparent, and isn't affected. But short enough, and it heats up-- living things don't like to be overheated... (unless they are extremophiles ... those little beasties can survive boiling acid-water..!!)

Maybe THAT could be your test? Find out how short the frequency needs to be, before noticeable effects on the yeast? Keep them all at the same power levels, to eliminate that part.

I'll take you up on the microwave experiment/proof/challenge. The results will be in the form of attenuation of the various frequencies I can find being transmitted in the area.
I'll publish the results here, but this may take a while. They don't sell EMF meters at Walmart.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

I'll take you up on the microwave experiment/proof/challenge. The results will be in the form of attenuation of the various frequencies I can find being transmitted in the area.
I'll publish the results here, but this may take a while. They don't sell EMF meters at Walmart.

I seem to recall, that germanium solar cells (or was it photo resistors? I forget) will respond to microwave frequencies. Can be had, cheap, on ebay.

You could then use the cell or the resistor and a battery, and a simple meter, record the various results. Thin, coated wire like what you can get from stripping (unwinding) a common transformer, will let you snake a pair of wires into the microwave oven, without damage to the door, it's seal or the wires. The coating keeps them from shorting.

Good Luck! I am actually quite interested in your results, when you find the time.

Ought to be quite interesting.

 

[dingdao]

Time to publish.
This was a test of a microwave oven as a Faraday Cage.

Equipment:
1 Microwave Oven, Sunbeam Model SGB8901
1 EMF Meter, Extech Instruments 480836
Specifications
Digital Readout, 4 digits
Measures Signals 50 MHZ to 3.5 GHz
Calibrated at 800 MHz, 900 MHz, and 2.5 GHz
Readout As uW/m^2, uW/cm^2, mV/m, uA/m and above
Measures Signals In X, Y, or Z Axis, or all 3.
Provides Readouts For Instantaneous, Average, and Maximum Levels
The actual sensing is of the E Field. All of the other measurements are calculated (Zso = 120PI Ohms)
Static electricity will produce an erroneous reading.

Test
At Home
I live in a rural area, so the cell phone signals are weak. I also have a router 2.5 GHz only, and 2 WIFI devices that are always on. Ambient Reading 0.9 uW/m^2 In Microwave Reading 0.5 uW/m^2
The 0.5 uW/m^2 reading is the lowest one I've recorded. Either way, the ambient reading does not provide enough dynamic range to work with.
However, using the microwave: Max Ambient Reading 776.6 uW/m^2
Cell Phone Tower
1000 Feet Ambient Reading 750.1 uW/m^2 In Microwave Reading 0.9 uW/m^2

Conclusion
Do you want to grow the samples at 800/900 MHz or 2.5 GHz?