ABSTRACT
All types of man-made electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and corresponding non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) produced by electric/electronic circuits and antennas – in contrast to natural EMFs/EMR – are totally polarized and coherent. Polarized/coherent EMFs/waves can produce constructive interference and amplify their intensities at certain locations. Moreover, they induce parallel/coherent forced oscillations of charged/polar molecules – especially mobile ions – in living cells/tissues, which can trigger biological effects. The most bioactive man-made EMFs are those employed in wireless communications (WC). They are usually referred to simply as Radio Frequency (RF) or Microwave (MW) EMFs/EMR because they emit carrier signals in the RF/MW band. Yet, WC EMFs contain emissions in the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF), Ultra Low Frequency (ULF), and Very Low Frequency (VLF) bands as well in the form of modulation, pulsing, and variability. This complexity and variability of WC EMFs, combined with polarization, is what makes them even more bioactive. Man-made EMFs (including WC) at environmentally existing intensities do not induce significant heating in living tissues. The Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) was introduced by health agencies as the principal metric for the bioactivity of RF/microwave EMFs. Estimation of SAR from tissue conductivity is inaccurate, and estimation from tissue specific heat is possible only for thermal effects. Thus, SAR is of little relevance, and EMF exposures should better be defined by their incident radiation/field intensity at the included frequency bands, exposure duration, and other field parameters. The present chapter also explains that man-made EMFs/EMR, in contrast to light and ionizing electromagnetic emissions, do not consist of photons but of continuous “classical” waves and, thus, do not obey Planck's formula connecting photon energy (ϵ) with frequency (ν), ϵ = h ν. Apart from polarization, man-made EMFs differ from natural EMFs in frequency bands and emission sources. Basic concepts of interaction with living tissue are discussed.
