Is the RF energy from mobile phone base station antennas similar to ionizing radiations such as X-rays?
The interaction of electromagnetic energy with biological material (cells, laboratory animals or humans) depends on the frequency of the source. X-rays, RF energy and "EMF" from power lines are all produced by electromagnetic sources, but the frequencies of their sources are very different. The frequency is the rate at which the electromagnetic field changes direction and is given in Hertz (Hz), where one Hz is one cycle (wave) per second, and 1 megahertz (MHz) is one million cycles (waves) per second.
Electric power in the US is at 60 Hz. AM radio has a frequency of around 1 MHz (1 MHz = 1,000,000 Hz), FM radio has a frequency of around 100 MHz, microwave ovens have a frequency of 2450 MHz, and X-rays have frequencies above one million MHz. Cellular (mobile) phones operate at a variety of frequencies between about 800 and 2200 MHz.
At the extremely high frequencies characteristic of X-rays, electromagnetic particles have sufficient energy to break chemical bonds (ionization). This is how X-rays damage the genetic material of cells, potentially leading to cancer or birth defects. At lower frequencies, such as those used by mobile phones and their base stations, the energy of the particles is much too low to break chemical bonds. Thus RF energy is "non-ionizing". Because non-ionizing radiation cannot break chemical bonds, there is no similarity between the biological effects of ionizing radiation (x-rays) and RF energy.
Canarina Algoritmos Numéricos, S.L.
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