Are Bluetooth's Headsets
Safe?
Bluetooth
is a method for data communication that uses
short-range radio links to
replace cables between computers and their
connected units.
It is a matter of
concern for some people that the carrier
waves used by Bluetooth´s transmitters use
the same frequency range as microwave ovens
(Bluetooth uses 2.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz).
What does it feel like to get in the path of
such waves?
Actually, the
transmitting power is too weak to
be noticeable for
humans….the radiation is not concentrated in
a beam, but dispersed more or less in all
directions. When using a wireless phone or a
Bluetooth device, some of
the emitted RF energy is absorbed by
the body. The penetration
depth is about 1.5 cm at 2450 MHz (about 2.5
cm at 900 MHz)…..The main absorption
mechanism is fieldinduced rotation of polar
molecules (for example H2O), which generates
heat through molecular “friction”
Heating by means of
radio frequencies is possible
over a broad frequency range. This is
taken advantage of in microwave
ovens at 2450 MHz using very
high power levels (up to 1,000,000 times
the power used by Bluetooth devices).
However, 2450 MHz is not
a resonance frequency of water.
“There is, however, another side to
this; some people are demonstrably
over-sensitive to
electromagnetic radiations.
Long exposure to strong fields make some
individuals so
sensitive,
after a few years, that they can no
longer be near such fields without
considerable discomfort. Bluetooth fits
into a general development pattern where
antennas for GSM-transmission and other
sources of electromagnetic radiations
become more and more prevalent in our
cities. The future will show
whether this is a healthy development.”
