# What damage do mega radio frequencies do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662 "2011-07-28T20:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Romeo\_and\_Whatsherface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Romeo\_and\_Whatsherface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Romeo_and_Whatsherface)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/1 "2011-07-28T20:14:47Z")
I just returned from hiking a 7800 ft. mountain. As my friends and I neared the summit, we saw a sign warning us that there were high radio frequency emissions. A little farther on, there were more signs warning that the radio frequency emissions had been determined to greatly surpass the maximum amount humans should be subjected to. There were lots of huge, heavy-duty radio towers up there. Needless to say, we summited without our heads exploding or Katy Perry songs coming in through our fillings. But really, what is the danger here? How long would we have had to stay up there in order to suffer ill effects? If one of us had been wearing a pacemaker (in which case, why would you embark on such a rigorous hike?), I could see the issue there, but the signs said “humans,” not “humans wearing pacemakers.” I’d appreciate any enlightenment by the wiser heads here at SD. Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/2 "2011-07-28T20:22:08Z")
From the [FCC:](http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html) > [@](#): > > Biological effects can result from exposure to RF energy. Biological effects that result from heating of tissue by RF energy are often referred to as “thermal” effects. It has been known for many years that exposure to very high levels of RF radiation can be harmful due to the ability of RF energy to heat biological tissue rapidly. This is the principle by which microwave ovens cook food. Exposure to very high RF intensities can result in heating of biological tissue and an increase in body temperature. Tissue damage in humans could occur during exposure to high RF levels because of the body’s inability to cope with or dissipate the excessive heat that could be generated. Two areas of the body, the **eyes and the testes** , are particularly vulnerable to RF heating because of the relative lack of available blood flow to dissipate the excess heat load. > > …Studies have shown that environmental levels of RF energy routinely encountered by the general public are typically far below levels necessary to produce significant heating and increased body temperature. However, there may be situations, particularly in workplace environments near high-powered RF sources, where the recommended limits for safe exposure of human beings to RF energy could be exceeded. Bolding mine. Hope this makes you feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/3 "2011-07-28T20:24:46Z")
BTW, did I ever tell you the one about the blind neutered mountain climber? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/4 "2011-07-28T20:48:06Z")
> [@Romeo\_and\_Whatsherface](#): > > But really, what is the danger here? You could get really warm really fast. [MHz radio waves are down near microwaves](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EM_Spectrum_Properties_edit.svg) in the electromagnetic spectrum. They don’t have enough energy to knock electrons loose; the worst they will do is be absorbed by your body and manifested as heat. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/5 "2011-07-28T21:00:47Z")
What it probably means is that you were hiking in California, which has determined everything and anything to be hazardous to human health. While there is a level of radio which is dangerous to humans, you wouldn’t be reaching that level unless you were climbing the towers and playing around with the dishes. ---
**Author:** ![EdwardLost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@EdwardLost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardLost)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/6 "2011-07-28T21:42:50Z")
If you have metal fillings you may feel a strong compulsion to support right-wing political issues. ---
**Author:** ![Romeo\_and\_Whatsherface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Romeo\_and\_Whatsherface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Romeo_and_Whatsherface)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/7 "2011-07-29T01:48:46Z")
So how long would one have to be exposed to high RF for this warming to be noticeable? I was up there half an hour, and, while I don’t have testes (being a woman and all), my eyeballs were just fine. In fact, I had an eye doctor appointment this afternoon and got a good report. I didn’t feel any hotter up there, either, though the wind was blowing, so maybe I wouldn’t have noticed. For the record, I’m not in California. And if I wake up a raging conservative, I’ll post in the Pit. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/8 "2011-07-29T01:57:03Z")
Try a tin-foil hat. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/9 "2011-07-29T20:14:54Z")
Radio waves can have an effect on people, but this is dependent on the frequency and the power output. After all, radio waves at a frequency of 2.45 GHz ([Wikipedia cite](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven)) cook food in microwave ovens, as **Mr. Moto** noted above. But even lower-frequency radio waves, such as those of a commercial radio station, can make a person feel odd, if the power output is high enough. As Wolfman Jack, who broadcast from a Mexican border blaster station at 250,000 watts of power noted (and see the bottom of this post for the source): > [@Wolfman Jack](#): > > So much energy rolled off that transmitter tower, it vibrated the filaments in [car] headlights until they lit up. You could hold a fluorescent tube up to the tower and it would do the same thing. Any bird that flew too close while the power was on would seize up with a birdie heart attack and fall to the ground, dead as a stone. People working at the studio would get a kind of drug-free high for the first few hours. Then they’d start to get loopy and need to take a heavy nap. According to Wikipedia, the frequency of Wolfman’s station ([XERF](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XERF)) is 1570 KHz nowadays (no idea what it was in Wolfman’s day, though it would have been among the AM frequencies of 530 KHz to about 1600 KHz), which is much less than the frequency of a microwave oven. Still, as Wolfman notes, at 250,000 watts of power, it did have an effect on people and animals nearby. Now, with all that being said, what kind of danger was the OP in? I’d suggest very little, if any; especially if the OP did not report feeling hotter than normal, or other symptoms of a problem. From a common-sense point of view, if the area really was dangerous, there would be more protection than just a few signs–a fence, perhaps, keeping hikers out of the danger zone. And if the power output was strong enough, but the only effect was “a drug-free high” and the need for a heavy nap, then that’s not so bad. You’re just going to the top of the mountain; Wolfman worked in the environment every day. My guess would be that the signs are there for liability purposes–if somebody does feel ill somehow, but went beyond the signs, they won’t be able to blame the operators of the towers. _ **Source** of the Wolfman Jack quotation above:_ Wolfman Jack, _Have Mercy: Confessions of the Original Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal_, (New York: Warner Books, 1995), pp. 122-123. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-damage-do-mega-radio-frequencies-do/590662/10 "2011-07-30T01:53:45Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > BTW, did I ever tell you the one about the blind neutered mountain climber? No, what’s the joke. Put it in a spoiler box, clearly labeled, to avoid pissing off certain recent ATMB posters, please. 😃