EFFECTS OF FREQUENCY, IRRADIATION GEOMETRY AND POLARISATION ON COMPUTATION OF SAR IN HUMAN BRAIN.
Zhou H, Su Z, Ning J, Wang C, Xie X, Qu D, Wu K, Zhang X, Pan J, Yang G. · 2014
View Original AbstractHuman brains show peak RF energy absorption at cell phone frequencies due to head resonance effects.
Plain English Summary
Researchers used computer modeling to calculate how much radiofrequency energy (SAR) gets absorbed by different parts of the human brain at various frequencies. They found that the brain absorbs particularly high levels of energy at around 250 MHz and 900-1200 MHz frequencies, likely because the head acts like an antenna that resonates at these specific frequencies. This matters because these frequency ranges overlap with common wireless technologies like cell phones and radio broadcasts.
Why This Matters
This study reveals a critical vulnerability in how our brains interact with radiofrequency radiation. The finding that human heads exhibit resonance effects at specific frequencies - particularly around 250 MHz and in the 900-1200 MHz range used by many cell phones - means our brains may absorb far more energy than previously assumed at these frequencies. Put simply, your head can act like an antenna, concentrating RF energy in your brain tissue at certain frequencies. What makes this research particularly significant is that it challenges the one-size-fits-all approach to SAR limits. The reality is that RF absorption varies dramatically based on frequency, polarization, and exposure geometry. This suggests that current safety standards, which rely on averaged SAR values, may not adequately protect against peak absorption in critical brain regions at resonant frequencies.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study. The study examined exposure from: ∼250 MHz and 900-1200 MHz
Study Details
In order to determine the specific absorption rate (SAR) of radio frequency (RF) waves in the human brain, and to investigate the effects of geometry and polarisation on SAR value
the finite-difference time-domain method was applied for the SAR computation. An anatomically realis...
. The results suggested that high SAR values were found in the brain, i.e. ∼250 MHz for vertical pol...
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2014_effects_of_frequency_irradiation_2710,
author = {Zhou H and Su Z and Ning J and Wang C and Xie X and Qu D and Wu K and Zhang X and Pan J and Yang G.},
title = {EFFECTS OF FREQUENCY, IRRADIATION GEOMETRY AND POLARISATION ON COMPUTATION OF SAR IN HUMAN BRAIN.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24399107/},
}