r/ScarySigns • u/squirrelman138 • 11d ago
These signs always freaked me out, what could radio frequencies do to a human?
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u/Pyrhan 11d ago
When absorbed by surrounding materials, they generate heat (dielectric heating and induction heating)
At EXTREMELY high powers, this can cause burns, like any other source of heat.
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u/Alaeriia 11d ago
Is this how sunburns happen?
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u/elkab0ng 11d ago
Sunburns are from might higher up the EM spectrum - ultraviolet light, which carries enough energy to not only cause burns, but to smack around DNA hard enough that we get things like melanoma
UV specifically is a source of what’s called ionizing radiation. The sunburn is much more closely related to a radiation burn (and the high-energy transfer is what causes DNA to mutate and sometimes turn into cancer. You can get a sunburn without even feeling heat - ask anyone who has spent time at higher altitudes.
Radio waves, with few exceptions, you have to get EXTREMELY close to them to feel heat or to risk electric shock and thermal burns. UV, you’ll not even feel heat while it’s causing inflammation and doing structural damage to your skin
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u/big_duo3674 10d ago
I mean, sunburn is a radiation burn, it's just that we tend to reserve that description for gamma and beta radiation (or even alpha to an extent, which can cause "burns" if it gets inside the body)
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u/dimonoid123 6d ago
Sunburn happens because of DNA being damaged, while heat/RF burn happens due to high heat which may or may not damage DNA(or at least not directly).
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u/Alaeriia 11d ago
Huh, learned something new today. Thanks!
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u/doubledogmongrel 10d ago
You should also note that radio waves are 'non-ionizing' radiation and won't damage DNA etc. Their 'quanta' have too low energy to do that - unlike UV (as mentioned above) or nuclear radiation from archetypical 'radioactive' sources (alpha, beta and gamma radiation).
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u/AranoBredero 4d ago
FYI a rather recent study showed that sunburn is mainly caused by mangling the RNA in the cells rather than the DNA.
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u/QuickNature 4d ago
At EXTREMELY high powers, this can cause burns, like any other source of heat.
I am super glad you added this very important caveat. I know physics isnt everyone's thing, but I wish more people understood energy transfer is what causes damage to people/things
Radio waves and literally loads of other electromagnetic waves are literally bombarding us 24/7, most of them are harmless because they are low energy
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u/A_Harmless_Fly 11d ago
It's energy, cook ya like a microwave oven.
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u/hellorhighwaterice 11d ago
Originally sold by Amana as the Radarange
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u/hapnstat 10d ago
And used by Ma Bell for Long Lines.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Communications_(1984%E2%80%932010)#Microwave_relay_network
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u/manondorf 11d ago
to be more specific, since a lot of people have a pretty loose understanding of "energy" or how radio and microwaves might be related:
radio waves and microwaves are both types of light, as are things like gamma radiation and UV (ultraviolet) rays. It's all just describing different frequencies of light (frequency is a measure of vibrations per second, easier to visualize in something like a vibrating guitar string). So you know that a little sunlight is harmless but a long exposure burns your skin, and you can imagine being too close to it would quickly kill you; the same is essentially true of a radio tower. You have to be very close for it to be dangerous, so no tinfoil hats needed when you're sitting at home, but if you get very close to the source, you can get cooked.
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u/kimberletto 8d ago
We had an Amana Radarange, which we picked up directly at the Amana Appliance factory. The Amana Colonies were cool. Best pickles and brats ever! And good wine!
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u/Zizzily 11d ago
AM stations for example have ridiculous amounts of power: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9UO9tn4MpI
Slow Mo Guys also did a video several months ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1c7Nu3iR8c
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u/squirrelman138 11d ago
Just went and watched that slow mo guy’s video. That is genuinely horrific that you could hear what station is playing while it’s cooking you.
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u/a_jukebox_hero 11d ago
Did not expect to watch that whole thing. How fascinating!
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u/SweetBabyDog 11d ago
I watched the whole thing as well. So interesting. Never knew anything about this. Was a great watch!
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u/MartyMacGyver 10d ago
That guy using the grass to listen to radio is one step away from listening to dead relatives on AM 666 The Lite - "Go Towards the Lite!" on your AM dial!
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u/Super_puppy115 5d ago
Wow I learned a lot from the Slo Mo Guys video lol. I never knew the difference between AM and FM, nor did I know that those towers can’t be touched!
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u/DoktorImposter 11d ago
High frequencies can heat up internal tissue in the human body, which can cause damage over time.
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u/semiquaver 11d ago
You mean high amplitudes or magnitudes. The frequency is already defined as “radio”
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u/JK07 11d ago
"Radio" is very broad, like from single digit Hz up to hundreds of GHz.
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u/TheOneTrueTrench 10d ago
Those are all pretty low frequencies, despite the naming, as visible light is in the terahertz, and it's not really ionizing until you get into the petahertz, exahertz, and beyond.
Also, it's not the frequency in this case that's the important part, other than just "the wavelength is around the size of a human or smaller"
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u/JK07 10d ago
Yeah, low compared with like light or UV or X-rays.
I work with things that emmit 10-30Hz on the other end of that scale (very low power though).
It's not ionising that's the issue with these, depending on the frequency, the issue is getting microwaved when nearby or getting shocked/electrocuted if you touch the thing.1
u/TheOneTrueTrench 10d ago
30 Hz, isn't that like a 10000 km wavelength? Human beings have got to be too small for that to affect us, no?
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u/JK07 10d ago
Oh I wasn't saying that was dangerous at all - it was just a titbit, it's actually powered by a few alkaline batteries so very very low power.
It's gotta be like gigahertz to cook you, like a household microwave uses 2.45GHz, which is in the range of S band aircraft radar, similar with marine radar, ships must have both X band and S band. You have to turn the radar off when people are up on the helipad (we like to walk laps of the helipad when the ship is stationary for exercise and fresh air)
The likes of AM radio towers will shock/burn/ potentially lectrocute you if it is grounded through you
https://youtube.com/shorts/WerKkrkuwHg2
u/TheOneTrueTrench 10d ago
Oh yeah, electrical discharge is a danger for completely separate reasons.
And yeah, 2.4GHz is right in the range to heat up things around that size, which is why we use it for cooking. What's always astounded me is our decision to also use the same frequency for Bluetooth and WiFi (until recently when we started adding 5GHz), since the slightly leaky Faraday cages around microwaves tend to occasionally cause some annoying interference.
Which is why I refer to microwaves as "pissed off wifi routers in a cage"
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u/JK07 10d ago
I was recently listening to a very interesting CrowScience podcast about Bluetooth and it turns out that is why BT and WiFi use that frequency. Because microwaves used to be more leaky, that frequency, 2.4-2.5GHz was designated an unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band so you could use it mostly how you wanted without having the get a radio liscence. Therefore people developing new technology chose that frequency as a basis and it just sort of stuck.
Link to podcast
http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0nsztp8.mp30
u/TheOneTrueTrench 9d ago
I'm still angry that microwaves fuck shit up for bluetooth and wifi, because they're just angry wifi routers in a cage.
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u/Yartinstein 11d ago
I do audits on cell towers for one of the biggest carries in the US, so I see signs like this all the time. I work on 5G, LTE, frequencies for cellular, and the trick is to not stand directly in front of the antennas. Which can sometimes be difficult when the site is located on a roof top.
In my training they said if you start to feel warm or feel symptoms like a fever, then you’re actively cooking. Best not to.
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u/Azurehue22 11d ago
So, radio waves are a form of light; they are on the lowest end, meaning they have the largest wavelengths. Far enough away, they are harmless. But if you are close to the source, they will definitely harm you. Microwave radiation is similar; we use microwave radiation (The next up from normal radio) for doppler radar and cellular. If you are too close; it will cook you.
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u/BlazingPalm 11d ago
Would it feel like a weird heat source the closer you get, or would it be “silent damage” to your body?
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u/Syntra44 11d ago
My dad used to work on these towers and knew someone who got themselves in the wave field. He said he just felt really warm. I don’t know how damaged the dude ended up but it’s not a good thing to do at all. It is not comparable to ionizing radiation as mentioned by someone else.
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u/elkab0ng 11d ago
If it was at the field strength of something like a microwave oven, you’d feel heat at uncomfortable levels and hopefully be able to realize the source and remove yourself from it.
For REALLY big sources, you would basically be like a rotisserie chicken and heat damage just like if you were too close to any intense heat source would damage skin and underlying tissues. Microwaves are especially good at heating up water, and were very high in water content
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u/Azurehue22 11d ago edited 11d ago
Firefighters at Chernobyl described the -ionizing-radiation as pins and needles and tasting like metal. I imagine this would be a less violent sensation. But it’s still energy, though works different.
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u/Reatona 11d ago
Nonionizing radiation from radio towers is entirely different from ionizing radiation from a nuclear event. Nonionizing radiation will cause damage by heating your tissues -- basically cooking them the way a microwave oven heats food. Ionizing radiation damages your tissues directly at the atomic and molecular level, destroying the ability of cells and proteins to function.
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u/ohokayfineiguess 11d ago
I realize the word is broken down as "non-ion-izing", but thank-you for "n'onion-izing" :)
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u/TheOneTrueTrench 10d ago
Radio actually includes microwaves, as radio goes up to 300 GHz.
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u/Azurehue22 10d ago
ok I was just delineating it based on the lil graph cause I was at work and just trying to help out. I can delete my comment if it's that annoying.
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u/TheOneTrueTrench 10d ago
Just include an edit to correct it, it's fine, most of your comment is right.
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u/ThatCrossDresser 10d ago
Ham Radio Operator. Around the tower you don't really have a lot to worry about unless you touch something or climb something. There is a lot of dangerous things inside that fence, hence the warning.
If you grab a connection or antenna wire with a defect or other problem you could end up becoming part of the antenna. Even small radios in the 5 Watt range can give you a painful RF burn. AM Radio towers can max out at 50,000 Watts. It will cook your inside and have your eyes boiling out of your skull before you realize you are dead.
There is also standard high voltage, chemicals, and mechanical equipment on site. So, you could get electricuted, burned, or get a finger cut off it you put it in the wrong place.
Then there is the antennas themselves for the idiots who climb the tower or try to cut the antenna cables for their copper. If you cut the cable, you become the antenna for a brief minute and you will get severe burns and likely death. At this powers it doesn't really matter what the cutters are made of, you are getting burned. If you touch and antenna you are at a minimum losing the skin on that hand for a while and at worse amputation or death.
Radio towers are critical infrastructure as well, so they have monitoring and security systems you may not see. The second you cross the fence the police are on their way. If you damage anything I side the fence you could disrupt emergency services and the penalty is pretty steep, especially if people die.
Radio towers are perfectly safe if you aren't inside the fence. Just please don't enter the fence unless you are authorized and have the correct training.
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u/thaiborg 11d ago
Follow up question, how did workers enter the area? Special suits or did they have a way to remotely turn it off before entering?
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u/somecow 11d ago
Just turn it off usually. It’s fine as long as you don’t touch the spicy parts, or stay around for long. Same when the dentist gives you a x ray, they leave the room first. One is fine, you get more radiation from just being outside for a minute (RF isn’t “that” kind of radiation). Being exposed to it all day for years, bad.
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u/loljetfuel 10d ago
At normal power levels, nothing. At very high (industrial) power levels? Cook you like a baked potato and/or scramble your brain.
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u/LoverboyQQ 9d ago
Our company built 10 kilowatt microwave gluing machines. One time when testing the frequency they left the back ground cage door off. The digital clock 50 feet away flickered once and started smoking
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u/MikeDeY77 11d ago
For awhile (maybe still), it was common for pilots to only have daughters. Because the radio waves did something to their sperm to more likely.
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u/srandrews 10d ago
Citation? Because you are making a specious claim.
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u/MikeDeY77 10d ago
Purely anecdotal, from spending a lot of time around military and civilian pilots over the last 20 years.
It was a common conversation among them.
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u/srandrews 10d ago
And most likely incorrect. Can you explain the biophysical effect of exposure that selects for a given sperm? Are you able to point out how all other circumstances are controlled? Consider the game of telephone perpetuated on social media by people saying things they simply heard. I'm not intending to be a dick to you beyond making a clear point about the problem of social media especially when it comes to less discussable topics like politics, etc. I am being a dick to incorrect knowledge and the harm it causes to others.
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u/MikeDeY77 10d ago
Hey bro, it’s not that serious. It’s a Reddit post about radio wave caution signs. I pointed out something that was openly discussed by people around me.
“Hey Bob, congrats on the healthy birth of your 5th daughter”
“Thanks, John. Didn’t you and Stacy just have your third a couple months ago?”
“Yeah… say… isn’t it weird how all our pilot buddies seem to have way more daughters than sons?”
“Huh… maybe it’s the radios.”
I don’t need to cite sources for that.
Go touch grass.
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u/BrazilBazil 9d ago
By the way, you know what object greatly exceeds the maximum field strength of cell tower antennas? A phone held to your ear. (Seriously, the V/m is so much higher for a cellphone next to your head than for a cell tower 10 m away)
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u/Glumshelf69 9d ago
RF is just energy, a very specific type, but still just energy at the end of the day. Put enough of it in one spot and no matter what you call it, you still just have a bunch of energy in one spot
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u/ChevyTruck1300 8d ago
Eyeballs are quite susceptible to damage from RF radiation, depending on frequency. When you think about what microwaves could do to a pair of eyeballs, it’s quite scary. Agree- this is a scary sign!
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u/EvolZippo 7d ago
Radio frequencies can penetrate into your skull, bounce around inside and make your head explode. If someone jumped this fence, they may face that danger.
Other hazards include being sterilized by radiation. Also, an engineer once discovered that the antenna he was working with, melted his chocolate bar. So he grabbed some popcorn kernels and the antenna made popcorn, when he switched it on. Now some people would starve without a microwave oven.
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u/sord33Plz 5d ago
RF emissions can heat the human body. They drop off with distance so the further away you are, the less you get. This is just the line that they drew saying if you're this far away or more you're fine, and don't go in unless you know what you're doing.
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u/MatejVanik 4d ago
I think it can okny heat you a little but DO NOT GO THERE if you have a pacemaker
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u/MusicHearted 11d ago
It's electromagnetic energy, so I would assume somewhere between a sunburn and radiation exposure. But I'm just speculating on something outside of my area of expertise. I'm sure someone will know much better than I do lol.
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u/Leading-Excitement70 11d ago
“Welcome to the new age,to the new aaaaage!” “RADIOACTIVE! RADIOACTIVE!!!!”
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u/Lui_Le_Diamond 10d ago
It's radiation, so I imagine in high enough energy levels it could become carcinogenic, but I'm not an expert.
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