BETTER than homeopathy - mobile phone radiation protectors

THE CASE
It is just about five years since the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) successfully prosecuted two manufacturers of patches claiming to reduce the radiation emitted by mobile phones by up to 98%.

At the time the FTC stated there was no scientific proof that these "shields" significantly reduced exposure to electromagnetic emissions. Products that block only the earpiece or any small part of the phone are ineffective because the whole phone emits electromagnetic radiation. The shields may interfere with the phone’s signal, and so cause it emit more radiation as it attempts to communicate with its base station. In other words, it is possible that the devices actually make the exposure worse.

Firstly it seems illogical to try to block the signal being emitted by the phone, that is what phones are designed to do. If you block the radiation, you block the signal and the phone won't work. Try using your mobile in a Faraday Cage such as an elevator.

Secondly if the devices do absorb radiation, what happens to the energy? The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. Usually absorbed radiation is converted to heat, so the phone should get hotter.

A quick trawl through the Internet shows that many of this type of device are still being marketed in Australia. The following are quotes from the respective advertising:

"The Stealth Radar Shield uses advanced radar-absorbing and stealth technology to absorb up to 98% of the radiation emitted from the earpiece areas of wireless and cell phones." $25.00

"Safer Call is a physically informed film, proven to protect the human body from the effects of harmful forces when using mobile communication devices" $19.95

"The WillauTronic mobile phone device works on the principle of inverse interference to eliminate specific information signals which accompany mobile phone signals. This helps offset the negative or harmful information affecting our body." $88.95

"BioPro Technology says, the influence of electromagnetic waves and fields emitted by televisions, radios, microwave ovens, computers, cell phones, etc. have a negative, lasting impact on the human health system, and with an increasing number of worldwide studies, has become a virtual certainty." $44.00

Each of the products tries to justify its existence with a mumbo-jumbo mixture of unproven allegation, physics, biology, hearsay and quotation of only slightly relevant scientific articles. Of course there is usually a good deal of anecdotal "evidence" and endorsements.

The most informative is the BioPro literature. Here is an extract, bear in mind that EMF can stand either for ElectroMagnetic Field or ElectroMotive Force. They cleverly don't specify which.

"HOW IT WORKS
1. Quantum physics
In 2000 German scientists studied Photons and realised that they 'copy' each other's behaviour. They reasoned that human cells must also imitate each other.

2. Transference Through Water
Water transfers energy and frequencies (EMF) through the body. Dr Masaru Emoto (Japan) found in his 7 year research that EMF damages water crystals, since 75% of our body and 90% of our brain consists of water therefore damaged information is transferred between cells affecting biochemical information processes resulting ultimately in compromising our immune system.

3. Resonance in Cells
BioPro EMF Harmonizers ensure that EMF does not harm your cells by harmonising aggressive EMF waves, so they don't damage each water cell and keeping cells in a healthy, long-term state, thereby avoiding the body's usual stress response and lowered energy when exposed to EMFs."

This bunkum resembles claims made for homeopathic medicines.

I intend to write a further article specifically unpacking the claims made in this literature. In unravelling the many unproven assertions, semantic twists and jumps of logic I may need the help of a physicist as my expertise is in the biological sciences and chemistry

In the interests of scientific research we purchased a WillauTronic mobile phone device. For $78.95 (it is dearer now) we received a stick on patch that looked remarkably like an RFID security tag used by some stores to protect stock (as in the picture above). These RFID tags cost about a dollar. We also received some literature and instructions, which we closely followed. We could not detect any benefits, but the good news is the phone worked just as well as before the patch was stuck on, and we don't set off the in-store RFID detectors .

Not money well spent - but my curiosity was satisfied.

MY VERDICT
I have specifically avoided saying these devices are snake oil, because I can't prove they don't work. All I can do is demonstrate they don't work for the reasons given in their literature.

But, it should be up to the vendors to prove they do work, by releasing actual independent scientific data, not by such pseudo-scientific nonsense. Interestingly many of the marketers of these devices also sell homeopathic "remedies".