iPhone 4 (and cancer)

[Overflow]

So, the new iPhone looks pretty cool. I haven't looked a whole lot into it, but the biggest thing that stuck out to me was the metal frame doubling as the antenna. This seems like a good idea at first, but wouldn't that just make it more conductive, and transfer the cell phone signal 'radiation' into your body even more?

Now, I don't claim to know a lot about this subject, and I was hoping some people on here could enlighten me. How do all those cell phone waves cause cancer(Or is that an old wives' tale), and would a metal frame make it worse?

Also, does anyone know how much the cheapest plan in Canada is for the iPhone (Or iPad, I guess)?

[The Damned]

This seems like a good idea at first, but wouldn't that just make it more conductive, and transfer the cell phone signal 'radiation' into your body even more?

You... you have no concept of how radiation works, do you?

If it was particulate radiation, like alpha or beta particles, then yes, it might slightly increase the chance of radiation affecting you. But even then, you would have to be either licking it constantly or shoving it into your body somehow over and over before it even did begin to affect you. Hopefully, neither of these actions are a regular part of your day.

The type of radiation that cell phones are dealing with isn't ionizing radiation, it's just regular radio frequencies. You're exposed to this 24 hours a day by every satellite and radio station in the sky and around your city. It doesn't cause cell damage. Even if they did, the amount is nowhere near enough to cause any significant amount of cellular or sub-cellular damage, even over long-term, constant use. You're going to get more cancer from standing out in the sunlight than you will from any portable device you'll be sticking next to your head.

And to those that are going to link to any number of studies showing evidence that cell phones do cause damage, I'd like to point out that several of those studies were done with lacking quality control, and a few were funded by private lobbying groups in the US and Europe. Hardly unbiased, I would say. There are also just as many reports countering those ones, and they were also done by independent labs. At best, the "does so cause cancer" side's argument is murky and unclear.

I'm The Damned, Canadian General Standard Board member, and trained in the use and containment of radioactive materials for non-destructive testing of mechanical devices. I've also been participating in a long-term study on the biological effects of low-level radio and ionizing radiation sources on industrial workers since 2007. I hope this info has been helpful to you, and that you're no longer afraid to use any cellular device in the future.

[Arcana]

The latest longitudinal study doesn't really find a clear connection.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE64A29V20100516

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/05/largest-cellphone-cancer-study-to-date-clarifies-little.ars

Data from the IARC study showed that overall, mobile telephone users in fact had a lower risk of brain cancer than people who had never used one, but the 21 scientists who conducted the study said this finding suggested problems with the method, or inaccurate information from those who took part.

Other results showed high cumulative call time may slightly raise the risk, but again the finding was not reliable.

I don't think the style of antenna will affect how much "radiation" is leaked into your body. No phone I've seen in the past four years has sported a visible, separate antenna.

As for iPad Data Plans in Canada, there's only like two major wireless carriers in Canada, I'm sure you could go to Rogers's and Bell's respective web sites to find the details (they start generally at $15 and go up from there).

[Bleck]

So, the new iPhone looks exactly the same as the old ones

huehuehuehuehue

[DarkeSword]

You... you have no concept of how radiation works, do you?

If it was particulate radiation, like alpha or beta particles, then yes, it might slightly increase the chance of radiation affecting you. But even then, you would have to be either licking it constantly or shoving it into your body somehow over and over before it even did begin to affect you. Hopefully, neither of these actions are a regular part of your day.

The type of radiation that cell phones are dealing with isn't ionizing radiation, it's just regular radio frequencies. You're exposed to this 24 hours a day by every satellite and radio station in the sky and around your city. It doesn't cause cell damage. Even if they did, the amount is nowhere near enough to cause any significant amount of cellular or sub-cellular damage, even over long-term, constant use. You're going to get more cancer from standing out in the sunlight than you will from any portable device you'll be sticking next to your head.

And to those that are going to link to any number of studies showing evidence that cell phones do cause damage, I'd like to point out that several of those studies were done with lacking quality control, and a few were funded by private lobbying groups in the US and Europe. Hardly unbiased, I would say. There are also just as many reports countering those ones, and they were also done by independent labs. At best, the "does so cause cancer" side's argument is murky and unclear.

I'm The Damned, Canadian General Standard Board member, and trained in the use and containment of radioactive materials for non-destructive testing of mechanical devices. I've also been participating in a long-term study on the biological effects of low-level radio and ionizing radiation sources on industrial workers since 2007. I hope this info has been helpful to you, and that you're no longer afraid to use any cellular device in the future.

Glad to see someone knows what's up when it comes to radiation.

Seriously. Cell phones are harmless.

[The Damned]

Glad to see someone knows what's up when it comes to radiation.

I have to. It's part of my job. I'm mostly Ultrasonic and Eddy Current, with occasional Radiography work. It sucks, and I hate it, so I avoid it if I can.

I think this is one of the few times we agreed on something.

I know, DarkeSword. I'm scared, too.

[Kizyr]

But even then, you would have to be either licking it constantly or shoving it into your body somehow over and over before it even did begin to affect you. Hopefully, neither of these actions are a regular part of your day.

Don't all iPhones have a vibrate feature? KF

[Overflow]

Lol, thanks for enlightening me; no, I didn't really have any concept of radiation. Aside from the sun, it's not something I generally deal with on a daily basis working at a supermarket But hey: "He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes. He who doesn't is a fool forever."

No clue who that quote is from (Or if I got it right) but you get the idea.

What kind of activities does your work entail, TheDamned?

[The Damned]

These days? Mostly pushing a few buttons on a laptop while a guy five feet away does all the dirty labor. I used to do the labor part, but now it's all "push button, watch screen, push another button".

Here are a few links to cover my primary work:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddy-current_testing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing