TE
TechEcho
Home24h TopNewestBestAskShowJobs
GitHubTwitter
Home

TechEcho

A tech news platform built with Next.js, providing global tech news and discussions.

GitHubTwitter

Home

HomeNewestBestAskShowJobs

Resources

HackerNews APIOriginal HackerNewsNext.js

© 2025 TechEcho. All rights reserved.

Ask HN: Where should 5G be placed on this radiation dose chart?

1 pointsby ToFab123almost 6 years ago

2 comments

gus_massaalmost 6 years ago
It is easier to understand the problem with another question: Where should sunlight be?<p>The power of sunlight is approximately 120W&#x2F;m^2. The surface of the skin of a person is approximately 2m^2. Let&#x27;s assume that someone sunbath naked at noon for 1 hour. The energy s&#x2F;he get is 120W&#x2F;m^2 * 2m^2&#x2F;2 * 3600s = 432000J.<p>Let&#x27;s assume the weight of the person is 100kg=220pounds, then s&#x2F;he gets 4320J&#x2F;Kg ~= 5000 J&#x2F;Kg.<p>Getting 5000 J&#x2F;Kg of gamma radiation is lethal. Getting 5000 J&#x2F;Kg of sunlight is safe [remember to use sunscreen to make it safer].<p>The graph is in Sv (Sievert) <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Sievert" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Sievert</a> . The conversion of J&#x2F;Kg to Sv is not straightforward, but for gamma radiation (IIUC) the conversion coefficient is 1 (assuming an uniform distribution, some parts of the body are more sensitive to radiation than other).<p>Getting 5000 J&#x2F;Kg of gamma radiation is equivalent to getting 5000 Sv&#x2F;Kg. The highest level in the graph is &quot;10 minutes next to Chernobyl reactor&quot; = 50Sv. So 5000Sv is about 1000 minutes next to Chernobyl reactor, that is approximately 16 hours, that is approximately half day. You ded.<p>Transforming 5000 J&#x2F;Kg of sunlight to Sv&#x2F;Kg is more difficult. The problem is that different radiation frequencies have a different conversion coefficient to Sv&#x2F;Kg. For gamma-rays and X-rays the coefficient is 1. I can&#x27;t find the coefficient for UV but let&#x27;s assume that it is close to 1. The coefficient for visible light is close to 0. Infrared is closer to 0 because the photons have less energy. Radio waves are closer to 0.<p>The idea is that the photons in gamma-rays, X-rays and UV chave a lot of energy and can kick an electron and f you are very unlucky create a mutation. The photons in infrared and radio waves have very little energy and they can&#x27;t kick and electron, so they are safe. You can accumulate a lot of infrared and radio waves photons and heat you, but they don&#x27;t produce mutations.<p>So the 5000 J&#x2F;Kg of sunlight is probably very close to 0 Sv&#x2F;Kg. I guess a less than 1 uSv (in the blue region), because 1 hour of sunbath is (probably) safer than an X ray in the arm. I&#x27;d like to see hard numbers, but 1 hour of sunbath per day is safer than 1 x-ray in the arm per day.<p>Just in case, remember to use sunscreen that blocks the UV so sunbathing is even more safe. You should use sunscreen to block the UV that is a very small part of the radiation of sunlight, but they have some chance or making a mutation. You don&#x27;t have to block the infrared radiation that is much bigger but it can&#x27;t produce mutations.<p>---<p>Back to your question: Try to get the power of 5G in a nearby area (100 foot away from the tower?), multiply it by 24hours to get the daily dose. Is it more or less than 1 hour of sunlight. Now remember that sunlight have UV, so sunlight is more dangerous than 5G.
arethuzaalmost 6 years ago
As far as I understand things, 5G is non-ionizing so the answer would appear to be &quot;nowhere&quot;.
评论 #20533692 未加载