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We are exposed to multiple electromagnetic fields (EMFs): low-frequency fields from power lines and electrical and electronic equipment, and radio-frequency radiation from wireless devices such as mobile phones and wireless Internet antennas. We don´t seem to feel them, but they´re all around us, and they even interact with our own electromagnetic fields. Potential health risks deserve to be investigated and reported on the eve of what promises to transform the planet thanks to a new paradigm of unstoppable and constant connectivity.
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A New Connectivity Paradigm
More than 100 years ago, electricity was introduced in people’s lives. The fascination that this new energy caused was such that it was impossible not to surrender to it. All dangers and fears were put aside and no one seemed to notice that artificial electromagnetic fields were being introduced that would forever alter the face of the earth. Similar situations were repeated with the introduction of radio, television, antennas, satellites, mobile phones and wireless Internet.
In today’s world, we are all exposed to multiple electromagnetic fields (EMFs): low-frequency fields from power lines and electrical and electronic devices, and radio-frequency radiation from wireless devices such as cell phones and wireless Internet antennas. The exposure is not optional: there is no way to escape from it, even in the most remote places on the planet. We don’t feel it, but it is all around us, and it even interacts with our own electromagnetic fields. The question is: does it affect our health?
Both the industry and the international organizations affirm that there are no risks, that there is no evidence of danger or scientific demonstration that can support such assumptions. But more and more studies warn about biological effects that we could not ignore, among them a higher incidence of brain cancer or childhood leukemia at higher levels of exposure. These opposing positions lead to a sort of senseless spiral in which every so often the media replicates the results of some scientific study with alarm, then the WHO dismisses the health risks, and later a new technology is introduced that promises to change our life. The interests at stake are many.
The question about the potential health risks of EMF exposure is becoming more pertinent on the eve of what promises to transform the planet with a new connectivity paradigm: 5G.
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What is Electromagnetism?
Electromagnetism is one of the four “fundamental forces of nature”, the other three being the gravitational force and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Also, “electromagnetism” is a branch of physics that precisely combines the studies of electricity and magnetism. The technical explanation for this phenomenon would be that the charged particles interact by exchanging photons.
It seems to be something too specific, too abstract, something so distant to our daily lives that it would be pointless to try to understand it. However, electromagnetism is one of the most common forces in our daily lives: it ranges from light and radio waves to X-rays, gamma rays and ultraviolet rays. Its principles are applied to the microwave oven, to the transmission of data by satellites, antennas and fiber optics, to television and to laser beams, among many others.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand how electromagnetic fields work: we see them in action, we use them in different domestic, industrial, medical, telecommunications fields, but we don’t realize the different powers and ways in which they work. Perhaps a first approach to its history will allow us to better understand these mechanisms and, later, their implications.
Electricity is present in nature: thunderstorms, certain animals and certain stones. In Ancient Greece it had already been observed that if an amber stone was rubbed, it could attract certain objects. Electricity is defined as a movement of electrons in a conductor, understanding electrons as light and highly mobile particles, charged with electricity, that exist within atoms.
Magnetism was also described in Ancient Greece, when Thales of Miletus observed the peculiarity of some stones from the Magnesia region: they attracted or repelled each other. The first magnetic field detector was the compass, used by navigators since the 12th century. Magnetism is also explained by electrons and the orientation of their poles within matter, the small magnets known as “spin”.
Many years went by until 1820, when Danish physicist Hans Oersted (1777-1851) discovered the relationship between electrical and magnetic phenomena. His experiment showed that a magnetized needle placed parallel to an electrical conductor deflected when a flow of electrical current passed through it. He then discovered that a flow of electrical energy had a magnetic effect around the cable.
