# Wi-Fi a violation of ADA?!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 25, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525 "2008-05-25T03:25:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/21 "2008-05-26T03:57:04Z")
Unless there is more to the article this is a non-story. No mention of a lawsuit so all we have here are a couple of crazy people who went to city hall and complained. I could just as easily complain about microwave towers. The story should never have made the news. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/22 "2008-05-26T16:01:34Z")
Oh, and I should add, yes, of course I can hear component hum. I was neglecting that as obvious and well known. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/23 "2008-05-26T16:12:12Z")
Sounds like a job for “Double-blind!” ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/24 "2008-05-26T17:19:42Z")
**mswas** , you should move to Santa Fe. You’d fit in quite nicely here. 😉 I’ll even buy you a few pints at the local breweries. 😃 [QUOTE=E-Sabbath] Oh, and I should add, yes, of course I can hear component hum. I was neglecting that as obvious and well known. [/QUOTE] Speaking of hum, one of the most famous Hums is just about an [hour and a half north](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taos_hum) of here. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/25 "2008-05-26T17:23:52Z")
[QUOTE=Patty O’Furniture] Why don’t they just wear aluminum foil hats like everyone else? [/QUOTE] Well, sure, that’ll stop normal EM radiation like the primitive CIA mind control rays and Wi-Fi fields, but it doesn’t have any effect upon neutral pion radiation emanating from the buried alien artifacts in New Mexico causing the ‘[Taos Hum](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a981218.html)’. What are you going to do about that, Mr. McSmartypants? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/26 "2008-05-26T17:39:38Z")
Chalk me up as another one who can tell if a CRT is on when I walk into the room. It’s nothing spooky, though; as mentioned above, it’s just a very high frequency noise. Irritating, but hardly dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/27 "2008-05-26T17:53:40Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] It’s nothing spooky, though; as mentioned above, it’s just a very high frequency noise. Irritating, but hardly dangerous. [/QUOTE] This might be the issue with some cell phone users who claim the radiation makes their head hurt or causes other symptoms. Cell phone backlights usually employ some sort of inverter running in the low tens of kilohertz range, typically between 10 and 20 kHz, to provide several hundred volts to a few kilovolts from the ~3.6 V from the battery; this often creates audible noise, and some of these are louder than others. It’s well-known that high-frequency sounds _just_ outside one’s perceptual range can cause irritability, anxiety and other stress symptoms. It’s a very narrow range of sounds that will do this (too low and you can hear it clearly, too high and it’s entirely imperceptible), and the exact range varies wildly from individual to individual. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/28 "2008-05-26T18:01:34Z")
And then there are the [mosquito ringtones](http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/) used by kids. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/29 "2008-05-26T18:07:00Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] **mswas** , you should move to Santa Fe. You’d fit in quite nicely here. 😉 I’ll even buy you a few pints at the local breweries. 😃 [/QUOTE] I grew up in Albuquerque. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/30 "2008-05-26T19:28:48Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] This might be the issue with some cell phone users who claim the radiation makes their head hurt or causes other symptoms. Cell phone backlights usually employ some sort of inverter running in the low tens of kilohertz range, typically between 10 and 20 kHz, to provide several hundred volts to a few kilovolts from the ~3.6 V from the battery; this often creates audible noise, and some of these are louder than others. It’s well-known that high-frequency sounds _just_ outside one’s perceptual range can cause irritability, anxiety and other stress symptoms. It’s a very narrow range of sounds that will do this (too low and you can hear it clearly, too high and it’s entirely imperceptible), and the exact range varies wildly from individual to individual. [/QUOTE] When I was young, ultra sonic alarms were coming into play in some large stores. Walking under one of the transducers was sometimes painful. Honestly I could stand in one spot in some stores, turn my head back and forth and spot the transducers by hearing alone. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your outlook enough loud rock and roll and race car engines has taken care of this problem. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/31 "2008-05-26T21:08:56Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] No. No one is “sensitive” to electric fields of the magnitude found in everyday use. [/QUOTE] You’re forgetting about fish here. [Many of them detect fields](http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio/Hopkins/eodrecog/electroreception.html) with a strength on the order of a few tens of microvolts per centimeter. Please don’t forget the fish. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/32 "2008-05-26T21:18:08Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] You’re forgetting about fish here. [Many of them detect fields](http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio/Hopkins/eodrecog/electroreception.html) with a strength on the order of a few tens of microvolts per centimeter. Please don’t forget the fish. [/QUOTE] I don’t believe–and I don’t have a copy right in front of me, so I’m just going from memory here–that the Americans With Disabilities Act covers fish. Not even American fish. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/33 "2008-05-26T21:27:02Z")
There is no justice! 😉 However, the finer point is that biological organisms _can_ be sensitive to fields in the range put out by cell phones. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/34 "2008-05-26T21:34:19Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] However, the finer point is that biological organisms _can_ be sensitive to fields in the range put out by cell phones. [/QUOTE] Well, yes, I’m aware of that. But, fish have special structures to detect those fields; humans don’t. You don’t really think I was talking about anything other than humans, do you? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/35 "2008-05-27T14:48:56Z")
For those who can hear CRTs and whatnot, you may be interested in the following GQ threads: [High pitch whistling noise from TVs](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=460362&highlight=flyback) [Arrgh! Noisy computer! Help, please?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=453000&highlight=flyback) I found them by searching for “flyback.” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/36 "2008-05-27T19:20:31Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] You’re forgetting about fish here. [Many of them detect fields](http://www.nbb.cornell.edu/neurobio/Hopkins/eodrecog/electroreception.html) with a strength on the order of a few tens of microvolts per centimeter. [/QUOTE] Also, Aquaman, because he lives underwater, may well be sensitive to propagation of electromagnetic radiation in ways that would not exist in air. The failure of **QED** to mention this possibility is utterly scandalous. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/37 "2008-05-27T19:25:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bricker] Also, Aquaman, because he lives underwater, may well be sensitive to propagation of electromagnetic radiation in ways that would not exist in air. The failure of **QED** to mention this possibility is utterly scandalous. [/QUOTE] Aquaman’s not disabled. :rolleyes: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/38 "2008-05-27T19:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Aquaman’s not disabled. [/QUOTE] No, just lame. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/39 "2008-05-27T19:44:17Z")
[QUOTE=Santo Rugger] Aquaman’s not disabled. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] From the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman#Retelling_origins): > [@](#): > > Soon in Aquaman #2 (Sep 1994), Aquaman lost his left hand when the madman Charybdis stole his ability to communicate with sea life and stuck Arthur’s hand into a piranha-infested pool. This caused Aquaman to become somewhat unhinged, and he soon began having prophetic dreams. Soon after, he attached a harpoon spearhead to his left arm in place of his missing hand. Seems like a recognized class to me. However, the article says nothing about sensing electrical fields, nor is Aquaman likely to come into contact with marine-based Wi-Fi networks, so I think **Q.E.D.** cleared that hurdle. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525/40 "2008-05-27T20:05:46Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] From the [Wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman#Retelling_origins): Seems like a recognized class to me. However, the article says nothing about sensing electrical fields, nor is Aquaman likely to come into contact with marine-based Wi-Fi networks, so I think **Q.E.D.** cleared that hurdle. Stranger [/QUOTE] I don’t see how having a harpoon instead of an arm qualifies as disabled. Even Strongbad wishes his hands were guitars and laser beams. And, yes, I realize this hijack is about as silly as the people in the OP. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wi-fi-a-violation-of-ada/450525.md?page=3)