EM frequencies (esp. radiowaves), Frey effect, DVB-T

[Mr. Oragahn]

I was reading some stuff about microwave related effects regarding mobile phones (following a multi-million four years long European survey), conclusions on possible DNA strands breaking, and some obscure research conducted here and there during the Cold War, and possibly even experimented in live conditions as we speak.
While it really sounded scarry, the first words that sprung into my mind were "TINFOIL HAT!!1!"

Still, quite curious, I went to wiki, just to see what it says, to see how far out in the open this may be.
Microwave auditory effect:

The microwave auditory effect, also known as the microwave hearing effect or the Frey effect, consists of audible clicks induced by pulsed/modulated microwave frequencies. The clicks are generated directly inside the human head without the need of any receiving electronic device. The effect was first reported by persons working in the vicinity of radar transponders during World War II.
These induced sounds are not audible to other people nearby. The microwave auditory effect was later discovered to be inducible with shorter-wavelength portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. During the Cold War era, the American neuroscientist Allan H. Frey studied this phenomenon and was the first to publish (Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 17, pages 689-692, 1962) information on the nature of the microwave auditory effect; this effect is therefore also known as the Frey effect.

So there has indeed been a serious research on this. But let's not stop there.

Dr. Don R. Justesen published "Microwaves and Behavior" in The American Psychologist (Volume 30, March 1975, Number 3).

Research by NASA in the 1970s showed that this effect occurs as a result of thermal expansion of parts of the human ear around the cochlea, even at low power density.
Later, signal modulation was found to produce sounds or words that appeared to originate intracranially.
It was studied for its possible use in communications but has not been developed due to the possible hazardous biological effects of microwave radiation. Similar research conducted in the USSR studied its use in non-lethal weaponry.

The existence of non-lethal weaponry that exploits the microwave auditory effect appears to have been classified "Secret NOFORN" in the USA from (at the latest) 1998, until the declassification on 6 December 2006 of Bioeffects of Selected Non-Lethal Weaponry in response to a FOIA request.

The technology gained further public attention when a company announced in early 2008 that they were close to fielding a device called MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) based on the principle.

It is also expanded upon, showing how it can be weaponized.
The technology has been patented some time ago.

The applications of such technology are, to say the last, most worrying. Is this bullshit or what?
*Rubs his eyes*

[Mr. Oragahn]

Leaving the topic of weaponized microwaves aside, I'm going to stir the thread towards the topic of broadcasting signals for TV and GSM, and globally, EMF.
In some western countries, notably in Europe, 2009 is the year of massive switch towards digital broadcast.
Below are two documents from three German doctors. They have observed certain effects on the population since the implantation of the new digital broadcasting systems in lieu of the analog one.
Their open letters address the effects of electromagnetic frequencies on population (which will also make you think twice about living near to those massive electrical pylons).

Warning Against Adverse Health Effects from the Operation of Digital Broadcast Television Stations, DVB-T

Open Letter to Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel

Open Letter to President Obama, Members of the House of Representatives, Members of the Senate, Citizens of the United States of America

In Germany, analog broadcast television stations have gradually been switching to digital
broadcast signals since 2003. This switchover first took place in metropolitan areas. In those
areas, however, the RF exposures in public places as well as at home continued to increase at
the same time. As a result, the continuing declining health status of children, adolescents, and
adults in urban areas could not be attributed to any single cause.

On May 20, 2006, two digital broadcast television stations went on the air in the Hessian Rhoen
area (Heidelstein, Kreuzberg), which until recently had enjoyed rather low mobile phone
radiation exposure levels. Within a radius of more than 20 km, the following symptoms that
occurred abruptly were reported:

constant headaches, pressure in the head, drowsiness, sleep problems, inability to think clearly,
forgetfulness, nervous tensions, irritability, tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, shortness of
breath, depressive mood, total apathy, loss of empathy, burning skin, inner burning, leg
weakness, pain in the limbs, stabbing pain in various organs, weight increase

Birds had fled the area. Cats had turned phlegmatic and hardly ever went into the garden. One
child committed suicide; a second child tried doing it.
Over time the same unbearable symptoms showed up in other locations—most recently in
Bamberg and Aschaffenburg on November 25, 2008. Physicians accompanied affected people to
areas where there was no DVB-T reception (valleys, behind mountain ranges) and witnessed
how these people became symptom-free only after a short period of time.

I will notice that globally, people are baited towards cities.
Be it because of the disappearances of schools, hospitals and justice bureaus in smaller towns, because of the necessity to move towards those large cities to obtain new "high tech" identity papers (because again, the necessary bureaus are not found in smaller communities), because there are plan for super-motorways to be built (which will destroy the environment and will lack sufficient countryside exit points), etc.
Yet cities are being increasingly polluted, chemically and electro-magnetically. Cameras burgeon faster than trees and flowers.

And people wonder why I don't really dig living in a city. Sick society no thank you.

I also edited the title to reflect the broader EMF/microwave topic.

[Jedi Master Spock]

In many urban areas in the US, chemical pollution has been substantially reduced over the past few decades.

China, not so much. From what I've heard, it's gotten a lot worse there.

The EMF question is one that's not terribly well understood yet. There are definitely certain health effects from particular kinds of EM radiation (e.g., cell phones have dramatic effects on male fertility) but the question of how much of an effect general EM noise has is difficult to study.

Technologically speaking - from cell phones to wifi - there's a movement towards wireless broadcasting for very good reason: It's much easier, cheaper, and more convenient than stringing lines everywhere.

[GStone]

Well, the idea of brute force agaist solid matter still applies. A strong enough em field will not only destroy dna strands, but also chunks of tissue. This is seen with radiation therapy. And there are repair mechanisms for DNA, but I suppose it comes down to how strong the fields are and how often you're exposed to them. I'd assume that lving near high powered lines/stations are more likely to cause dna damage than any amount of cell usage.

Even with a sudden rise in both the human dna animal populations' symptoms, there are always gonna be people that are more suseptible than others. I never heard about that anti-male feritility with cells. I tend to short out electronics anyway, but I also don't like being within easy reach of people when I want to be alone.

[Jedi Master Spock]

Well, the idea of brute force agaist solid matter still applies. A strong enough em field will not only destroy dna strands, but also chunks of tissue. This is seen with radiation therapy. And there are repair mechanisms for DNA, but I suppose it comes down to how strong the fields are and how often you're exposed to them. I'd assume that lving near high powered lines/stations are more likely to cause dna damage than any amount of cell usage.

Even with a sudden rise in both the human dna animal populations' symptoms, there are always gonna be people that are more suseptible than others. I never heard about that anti-male feritility with cells. I tend to short out electronics anyway, but I also don't like being within easy reach of people when I want to be alone.

Well, it so happens that the effect of cell phones has been traced down very well, thanks to the Chinese government's willingness to have medical experiments conducted on prisoners. It's the microwave radiation that does it. If you give a substantial microwave dose, the effect can last up to a month or so, IIRC.

The minor microwave dose from cell phones is - at close range - enough to significantly reduce sperm count and motility if you talk several hours a day.

I would worry more about laptops and cell phones than high-voltage power lines. Distance is critical when talking about the effects of EMF radiation, and it's a minority of people that live within a few hundred meters of high-voltage lines. Cell phones and laptops are usually less than a meter away.