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kat.hayes

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
1,447
52
I'm just waiting for thing thing to come out for VZW, though I was just thinking. Is there any correlation between phone size and the amount of radiation emitted? I don't plan to hold this thing up to my ear much, however, it will be in my pocket all the time, and if it is constantly using its 4gLTE signal then....
 

Tarzanman

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2010
1,304
15
I'm just waiting for thing thing to come out for VZW, though I was just thinking. Is there any correlation between phone size and the amount of radiation emitted? I don't plan to hold this thing up to my ear much, however, it will be in my pocket all the time, and if it is constantly using its 4gLTE signal then....

A friend of mine says one of his colleagues SWEARS that none of the Samsung phones comply with US law regarding radiation levels. This colleague thinks that Samsung is buying off the regulators to get around the rules.

Yeah, its a rumor.
 

3bs

macrumors 603
May 20, 2011
5,434
24
Dublin, Ireland
I doubt that size matters in this case. Are the radios actually any bigger? I know that a big part of the inside is for the battery. Other phones will also be using LTE so are you worried about that or is your concern specific to the Note 2?
 

TheHateMachine

macrumors 6502a
Sep 18, 2012
846
1,354
I do not think that has been any real hard evidence to support Cellular signal causing harmful radiation.
 

theluggage

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2011
8,015
8,451
Is there any correlation between phone size and the amount of radiation emitted?

No. Many other phones will have the same transmitter chips. The power output of mobile phone transmitters is governed by regulations. The placement and design of the antenna might affect how much goes into your brain, but if a phone doesn't emit radiation, it won't work! If anything, potentially, a large phone might mean that the antenna ends up further away from your head which could mean a dramatic reduction in the intensity of the radiation going through your head.

I have a co-worker who worries about this stuff and she sticks these radiation stickers on her phone, computer, etc..

Can I suggest the following test for the effectiveness of these stickers:

  1. Apply sticker to phone.
  2. Call someone.
  3. If they answer then I guarantee that the sticker is not significantly reducing the radiation emitted from your phone (unless the sticker somehow turns the radiation into magic fairies who carry your message for you).

Here is a more practical, free, scientific suggestion:

If you normally hold your phone 1/4" from your ear, try holding it 1/2" from your ear instead. This will reduce the intensity of radiation passing though your head by a factor of 4. Or hold it a whole inch away and reduce it by a factor of 16. Go look up the inverse-square law on wikipedia. Or use a headset (wired, not bluetooth) and experience a tiny fraction of the radiation.

That is why climbing up an active radio transmitter mast can boil your cojones, but standing 30' away from it is perfectly safe.

Personally, I would avoid walking around with a phone pressed up to my ear for hours at a time, and I would definitely discourage young kids from doing so. This is partly because holding a radio transmitter so close will have some warming effect on the neighbouring tissue and maybe, just maybe, that might have a negative effect over time... but mainly because it is very, very annoying and might lead to you walking in to things or turn into one of those rude prats who don't even stop yakking when they're at a shop checkout and think that they have the right to take calls in movie theatres.
 

SlCKB0Y

macrumors 68040
Feb 25, 2012
3,431
557
Sydney, Australia
Personally, I would avoid walking around with a phone pressed up to my ear for hours at a time, and I would definitely discourage young kids from doing so.

People are worried about putting mobile phones next to their heads but then don't think twice about carrying them in their pants pockets next to their genitals?

:D
 

mib1800

Suspended
Sep 16, 2012
2,859
1,250
I think Note 2 has one of the lowest SAR values I have seen in a phone. Certainly much much lower than Iphone 5. Iphone (all versions) seem to have one of the highest SAR values in the industry.
 

siiip5

macrumors 6502
Nov 13, 2012
395
0
theluggage said:
That is why climbing up an active radio transmitter mast can boil your cojones, but standing 30' away from it is perfectly safe.

Personally, I would avoid walking around with a phone pressed up to my ear for hours at a time, and I would definitely discourage young kids from doing so. This is partly because holding a radio transmitter so close will have some warming effect on the neighbouring tissue and maybe, just maybe, that might have a negative effect over time... but mainly because it is very, very annoying and might lead to you walking in to things or turn into one of those rude prats who don't even stop yakking when they're at a shop checkout and think that they have the right to take calls in movie theatres.

Warning: Do not rotate, radiate or energize any electric or electronic equipment while men are working aloft.

Any coasties or squids here?
 

theluggage

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2011
8,015
8,451
People are worried about putting mobile phones next to their heads but then don't think twice about carrying them in their pants pockets next to their genitals?

I wouldn't walk around with a mobile phone clasped to my genitals either - but most pants pockets are several inches away from the vital bits. See the inverse-square law again. The only thing that would remotely worry me is the idea of holding a transmitter less than an inch away from my brain for prolonged periods just in case the very slight local heating involved could cause the mental equivalent of heat-rash.
 

theluggage

macrumors G3
Jul 29, 2011
8,015
8,451
Re-read my post again and then tell me if you actually think I was being remotely serious. :p

Apologies. I turned off my 'they must be taking the Mickey' filter when I got to the bit about magic stickers that could stop your phone from emitting radiation (without affecting the signal).

Plenty of people really, really don't get the issue about how rapidly radiation intensity decreases with distance.
 

Tarzanman

macrumors 65816
Jul 16, 2010
1,304
15

kdarling

macrumors P6
I'm just waiting for thing thing to come out for VZW, though I was just thinking. Is there any correlation between phone size and the amount of radiation emitted? I don't plan to hold this thing up to my ear much, however, it will be in my pocket all the time, and if it is constantly using its 4gLTE signal then....

Note that "radiation" in this case doesn't mean what many people think, as in ionizing nuclear radiation.

When engineers talk about phone "radiation", they simply mean that the phone spreads (radiates) radio frequency waves out in many directions.

It's just like how a rock that is thrown in a pond radiates tiny waves. Or an electric bulb radiates light. Or a happy person radiates joy. Or how a steam radiator, well, radiates heat.

The reason the amount of energy is regulated, is because kind of like a microwave oven, the electromagnetic energy a phone emits can cause heating in nearby moist tissue. So, phones (and related electromagnetic devices like MRIs) are limited to the amount of heating energy that might be absorbed by nearby tissue. That is what the SAR rating is about.

In most cases, our soft wet brain is protected from this by our skull (except for jaw and ear openings). Putting your phone somewhere else simply means it'll be more likely to be next to non-protected soft tissue that could heat up. However, about the only people who need worry about that are men who are trying to be fertile.
 
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