The role of radio science in investigating electromagnetic biological hazards
Curtis C. Johnson · 1977
This 1977 study established scientific methods for investigating microwave biological hazards that still influence EMF safety standards today.
Plain English Summary
This 1977 research examined how radio science methods could be applied to investigate potential biological hazards from electromagnetic fields, particularly microwaves. The study focused on developing scientific approaches for studying bioeffects and establishing safety standards. This represents early recognition that electromagnetic exposures needed systematic scientific investigation.
Why This Matters
This 1977 paper represents a pivotal moment in EMF research history when scientists first began systematically applying radio science principles to biological hazard assessment. The timing is significant - this was just as microwave ovens were entering homes and radio communications were expanding rapidly. What makes this particularly relevant today is that it established the scientific framework we still use to evaluate EMF bioeffects, yet our exposures have increased exponentially since then. The microwave frequencies examined in this early work are now everywhere - in WiFi routers, cell phones, and countless wireless devices that surround us daily. This foundational research helped shape the safety standards we rely on today, standards that many scientists now argue are inadequate given our dramatically increased exposure levels.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To define an important area of contemporary research to which URSI can and has made substantial contributions, directed at increasing the scientific understanding of possible human hazards of electromagnetic radiation in the environment
The paper reviews the role of radio science in investigating electromagnetic biological hazards, inc...
The paper discusses various theoretical models including planar multi-layer biological samples, sphe...
URSI has made substantial contributions to bioeffects research through metrology for better electromagnetic field and absorbed power measurements in biological specimens, and application of field theory techniques to determine absorbed power in three-dimensional biological models. Theoretical studies have indicated that maximum power absorption resonance region for man occurs near 70 MHz when man's height equals 0.4 wavelengths
Show BibTeX
@article{the_role_of_radio_science_in_investigating_electromagnetic_biological_hazards_g4568,
author = {Curtis C. Johnson},
title = {The role of radio science in investigating electromagnetic biological hazards},
year = {1977},
}