The electromagnetic field (EMF) has been a natural part of the earth ever since the beginning of the universe and extends throughout all of space. It is a fundamental form of nature. The most familiar form of the electromagnetic field, to us, is found in sunlight. This electromagnetic field is actually the interaction of both an electric field, which is composed of stationary charges, and the magnetic field which consists of wave like currents.
What is most interesting about the electromagnetic field is that, not only does it exist as a natural phenomenon around us, but it is also produced by a large number of the technological advances we have made and that we now tend to take for granted. For example, the microwave oven that most of us heat food or warm the baby's bottle in produces EMFs. Even your computer screen and your cell phone produce EMFs. Actually, there are many electrical devices in and around your home that produce EMFs. Electrical substations and power lines are other examples of EMF producers outside your home.
Because the amount of EMF exposure has increased, as a result of technological advancement, scientific studies indicate that too much exposure can have a negative impact on human health, specifically increasing the cancer susceptibility rate. Moreover, some studies seem to indicate that children living in close proximity to overhead power lines, in combination with their still developing immune system, are more likely to develop leukemia than children who don't live near these power sources.
Additionally, due to the increase of EMF exposure there has also been a noted increase in miscarriages, birth defects, breast cancer, brain cancers, and Alzheimer's disease, to note a few more of the potential hazards of EMF. EMFs have also been associated with an increase of chronic fatigue, depression, headaches, allergies and other environmental disease.
Here's how EMFs work on the human body. EMFs reduce the pineal glands ability to produce melatonin, which is a hormone that has been medically proven to control circadian rhythms and mood. EMFs also inhibit the immune system's ability to protect the body from the formation of pre-cancerous cells. When the body's immune system is compromised the body is more susceptible to contracting any number of antigens that it can't naturally fight off.
Cell phones are also on the list of EMF producing devices. According to Australian Health Research Institute nearly one third of the world's population is susceptible to some form of ear, eye, or brain cancer, not to mention that EMFs produced by cell phones also have the potential of causing other body disorders, such as epilepsy, heart problems, migraines, and more. EMFs are also produced by the transfer towers that assist in the signal transmission from cell phone to cell phone.
Because of the EMF threat to your health there are some things to keep in mind. First, reduce the amount of the use of your cell phone. If you are at home and have a land line, use the land line not the cell phone. Also, turn off the cell phone when you are not using it. When out and about keep your cell phone in a place other than a pocket over or near your heart. In addition, you should avoid living or working near transmission masts.
When people are talking on a mobile phone, they're often paying less attention than they should to what's going on around them. This can be dangerous in certain situations, such as around building sites or -- particularly -- when driving a car. One extreme case, which came to light on the international press wire services this summer, told of a man picked up while driving in the Israeli town of Netanya with a mobile phone glued to each ear. The man had become so engrossed in his conversations that he had taken to steering with his elbows -- and was flagged down by a policewoman who had noticed his car weaving treacherously from side to side.
While this is an exaggerated example, the use of mobile phones while driving is considered sufficiently dangerous by many governments that it is banned in at least a dozen countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland.
The problem of social alienation is perhaps the hardest to pin down, yet is potentially one of the most destructive results of a world over-reliant on wireless communications. Sociologists are already beginning to note that many people, especially those under 30 years old, are spending a great deal of time speaking to people they are not with, at the expense of those who are actually there.
A telling example comes from Finland, which has over 60% mobile penetration. There, entire groups of young people sitting together are frequently seen to be talking on their mobile phones to absent friends and colleagues.
It's the ultimate in social alienation, and indicative, say some, of a trend which threatens to eat away at our sense of social cohesion. Whether it's the novelty of the technology or our simple need to feel wanted, the human brain seems to register incoming electronic signals as inherently more urgent and important than the interpersonal signals coming from a fellow human being in front of us.
Team this with an almost universal desire to avoid personal contact -- witness the popularity of every kind of impersonal invention, from e-mail and the Internet to automatic teller machines -- and it's clear that alienation could prove a serious side effect of a technology whose selling point until now has often focused on slogans like "It's about communications between people" or "Connecting People".
On the other hand cellular telephony has brought great and new freedoms for youngsters -- and increased security and peace of mind for their parents. It is now possible for young people equipped with cell phones to stay in touch with their parents and for parents to stay in touch with their children. This can help reduce or eliminate the need for meaningless restrictions on young people that were only in place because of parents' anxiety as to their childrens' activities or whereabouts. Costs need not even be a major issue, since these can be controlled through the use of pre-paid cards.
Aside from yet-unanswered questions relating to health, the positive use of mobile technologies lies largely in our hands -- in the hands of government, when it comes to environmental issues and safety regulations; in the hands of operators, who can do much to ensure the smooth integration of the technology into our society, both in terms of equipment design and aesthetics, and through initiatives which help train people in mobile phone etiquette; in the hands of employers, who can take pains to ensure staff with corporate mobiles are not abused; and ultimately, in the hands of users, who need to cultivate a greater level of awareness and work to ensure that their phone use does not negatively impact the lives of those around them.
With a little effort on everyone's part, the benefits of mobile connectivity should serve to enhance our experience of life, offering us more freedom, and ultimately creating a better society in which people really do feel closer together.
Both Paul Fitzgerald & Victor Epand are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Paul Fitzgerald has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing Tool, Massage and Environment. by Paul Fitzgerald, EMF expert, graduated from NJIT in Newark, NJ. He has been studying EMF's for over 15 y. Paul Fitzgerald's top article generates over 5000000 views. to your Favourites.
Victor Epand has sinced written about articles on various topics from Shopping, Trucks and Interest. Victor Epand is an expert agent for , a huge cellphone superstore. Victor Epand's top article generates over 11100000 views. to your Favourites.