Electronics put off electromagnetic radiation. I know, I know. It’s a shocker, who knew? Actually I guess anyone with an EMF Meter and some electronics. Hell you could use the EMF Meter to measure the flux density OF the EMF Meter.
What is perhaps slightly disturbing is that these electromagnetic frequencies can interact with their surroundings — although even human beings radiate EMF that can affect electronics and such. Anyway, there is a lot of clamor about this. Has been for years. You can buy EMF guards for your cell phones that do nothing and underwear that deflect unwanted signals (and attention from the opposite sex).
Imagine for a moment my total lack of surprise and amazement when today I stumbled upon this Reuters article. It tells of a study conducted by a 17-year-old high schooler and “overseen” by his electrophysiologist father and a thoracic surgeon. The study sought to detect the interaction of iPods on pacemakers — a device notoriously vulnerable to EMF (remember the warnings on microwaves? Yeah, same thing).
The study was conducted on a group of 100 pacemaker-equipped patients with a median age of 77. Apple iPods were waved near the chests of these old-timers and their pacemakers’ reactions were monitored. They found that half of the patients’ pacemakers suffered electrical interference when held 2-inches away for 5 to 10 seconds. There were also instances of interference at 18-inches, but it fails to cite how many occurrences emerged at that distance.
So what have we learned? It’s not that electronics produce electromagnetic frequencies capable of killing grandpa. No, the moral of the story remains the same as always: Don’t strap electronics to the chests of people with pacemakers.
These are things that patients in this situation know. Like anyone with health disorders significant enough to have something implanted in one’s body, pacemaker patients are given an array of very specific instructions on how to not die from things that could screw up the implant.
Alright, nothing else to see here, move along. We’ll let you know when there is something serious to worry about. So keep reading diligently or else you might get caught at unawares of really dangerous — like Japanese air sex (NSFW).
iPods can make pacemakers malfunction [Reuters]