On the harmfulness of microwaves

I don't worry about +30dBm at 1.9GHz in my pocket from my phone. I have no paticular insight into microwave safety but +10dBm out of a waveguide dosn't worry me at all. There are still automatic door sensors using 10GHz at somthing like +10dBm.

Putting a mobile phone in a microwave oven is not a good test. Most current models of microwave oven make the side of the door a quarter of a wavelength long at 2.4GHz. The shielding is much less effective at 800/900/1900MHz mobile phone frequencys. Also in an urban area it would not be surprising for the phone signal strength to be 50dB above the minimum level the phone needs so even if the signal is reduced a lot the phone can still ring inside a microwave.

I used to have a phone with a fun hidden menu that showed things like the received signal strength of the cells it could hear, the phone could just about make a call at -110dBm, At a few places standing down the street from a cell the reading pegged at the maximum reading of -40dBm.

My wifi access point can supply a low resolution graph of signal+noise level across the channels. When I did a quick test the carrier from the microwave oven downstairs with a mug of water in it was much stronger than the level from couple of laptops transfering a test file (UK spec laptops so probably 5-10mW) so there is certainly some leakage.

Bob

Yawn.

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There are two kinds of people on this earth: The crazy, and the insane. The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.

Back when I worked for GTE, there was a microwave tower up on the roof. On the ladder going up there, there was a big sign advising about radiation danger (the tower was 60 feet high...)

One day, we had a window washing crew come in, and one of the guys went up on the roof to get some of the windows from the top. When he came down, there was a group of us at the bottom of the ladder, looking solemn. We looked at him, said "Well, we won't charge you for the vasecomy." and pointed at the sign.

Then we lost it... 8-)

Charlie

YOU lost it? What about the victim? I hope he had a good sense of humor ;-)

...Jim Thompson