Cell Phone Radiation

I have just received an e-mail from a friend urging me not to use cell phone when the battery is low since the radiation is more than a thousand times higher. Radiation is a scary word; it reminds people the victims of atomic bombs in Hiroshima. In fact, there is radiation everywhere around us: from the sun, the fireplace and cell phone. Yes, cell phone.

Since the invention of cell phone, there has been this persistent fear of radiation from the phone antenna. Part of the radio signal that intended to send the tower is absorbed by the user’s brain. The measurement of this radiation is SAR level which requires sophisticated equipment and specialists to measure accurately.

The FCC regulation allows maximum of 1.6W/g in U.S. cell phones (I used to work in cell phone design and this is the qualification requirement before phones are certified to ship). European phones measure SAR differently, and you may find Nokia phones have lower SAR level than Motorola phones, but it is like comparing apple to orange. Both standards are found acceptable after many independent (government and academic) studies for over two decades.

In this information age, thousands of useful facts could show up on our web browsers with a touch of finger tips. Unfortunately, there are also people who like to spread rumors preying on the uninformed. But how do I know stuff like “the cell phone radiation is a thousand times higher when the battery is low” is a rumor? If you are not sure, the rule of stopping rumors is simple: keep it to yourself if you cannot verify the fact.