[QUOTE=ewmayer;502921]Do you think people are simply born with expertise?[/QUOTE]

no, otherwise I'd agree with family that I'm skilled not just abled

[QUOTE=science_man_88;502925]no, otherwise I'd agree with family that I'm skilled not just abled[/QUOTE]Well, get on with it then and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

[URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2018/12/13/earliest-known-painting-george-washington-comes-home-mount-vernon/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fbf48ff8a004"]Earliest known painting of George Washington comes home to Mount Vernon[/URL]

[URL="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-hippies-were-right-its-all-about-vibrations-man/"]The Hippies Were Right: It's All about Vibrations, Man![/URL]

[URL="https://newatlas.com/deep-carbon-observatory-life-earth-study/57607/"]10-year study documents massive, mysterious ecosystem deep beneath our feet[/URL]

[URL="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/titanic-the-untold-story/"]Titanic: The Untold Story[/URL]

[URL="https://neurosciencenews.com/brain-size-intelligence-10283/"]Bigger Brains Are Smarter, But Not By Much[/URL]

[URL="https://qz.com/1486636/spinning-spiders-leopard-eels-red-coral-noteworthy-new-species-discovered-in-2018/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=daily-brief"]Spinning spiders, leopard eels, red coral: Noteworthy new species discovered in 2018[/URL]

[URL="https://www.livescience.com/64267-ancient-board-game-nomads-discovered.html"]4,000-Year-Old Game Board Carved into the Earth Shows How Nomads Had Fun[/URL]

[URL="https://daily.jstor.org/jane-austens-subtly-subversive-linguistics/"]Jane Austen’s Subtly Subversive Linguistics[/URL]

[URL="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/health/genetics-brain-autism-schizophrenia.html"]Mapping the Brain’s Genetic Landscape[/URL]

So, I've been appointed to a "Working Group" to try to help Barbados bring their Telecoms into the 21'st century.

One of the members brought forward [URL="https://youtu.be/BwyDCHf5iCY"]this video[/URL] arguing that we should all be very afraid of EMR. My response was:

[QUOTE]With regards to the risks associated with RF radiation, I would like to point out that cell phones, WIFI, Bluetooth et al radiate energy at far less power than the visible light we all rely on. It's "non-ionizing" (meaning it can't bump an electron from an atom) and certainly can't bump an atom from a molecule. Thus, for example, DNA damage from RF radiation is effectively impossible.

Even the high-intensity 2.45 GHz RF used by microwave ovens does little more than vibrate water molecules, and thus heats them. Just for context, the visible light received by our eyes and our bodies during the day are in the 400 to 800 THz (400,000 to 800,000 GHz) range. Far more energetic.[/QUOTE]

I would be very appreciative if anyone can point out any errors in my logic, based on "first principals", or any well-verified empirical data. Thanks.

[QUOTE=chalsall;503262]So, I've been appointed to a "Working Group" to try to help Barbados bring their Telecoms into the 21'st century.

One of the members brought forward [URL="https://youtu.be/BwyDCHf5iCY"]this video[/URL] arguing that we should all be very afraid of EMR. My response was:
[quote]With regards to the risks associated with RF radiation, I would like to point out that cell phones, WIFI, Bluetooth et al radiate energy at far less power than the visible light we all rely on. It's "non-ionizing" (meaning it can't bump an electron from an atom) and certainly can't bump an atom from a molecule. Thus, for example, DNA damage from RF radiation is effectively impossible.

Even the high-intensity 2.45 GHz RF used by microwave ovens does little more than vibrate water molecules, and thus heats them. Just for context, the visible light received by our eyes and our bodies during the day are in the 400 to 800 THz (400,000 to 800,000 GHz) range. Far more energetic.[/quote]


I would be very appreciative if anyone can point out any errors in my logic, based on "first principals", or any well-verified empirical data. Thanks.[/QUOTE]The only error I see is a "wrong word" error. It should be "principles" not "principals." Not that facts and logic are much use against the view that Radiation is an Evil Spirit.

I don't think the real hazard is from the radiation. It's from getting distracted by your cell phone while driving, or even walking, possibly across a street. Or kids playing video games while they should be outside running around playing. The inactivity will rot their brains for sure!

But, to the topic at hand. I have a memory from long, long ago about an offer to demonstrate the absence of radiation hazard from microwave ovens. And, the Internet really does know all, for, lo and behold, I found it! You're going to love this...

[url=https://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q8044.html]Question #8044 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"[/url][quote]Our new adult cat has the habit of sleeping on top of our microwave... <snip> [b]In the 1970s Robert van Allen, for whom the van Allen radiation belts are named, made a statement that getting injured from a microwave oven was analogous to getting sunburn from moonlight! He even offered to sit on his oven 24 hours a day.[/b][/quote]

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;503286]The only error I see is a "wrong word" error. It should be "principles" not "principals." Not that facts and logic are much use against the view that Radiation is an Evil Spirit. [snip] You're going to love this...[/QUOTE]

Thank you very much for the peer review. Sincerely. I always want to know as soon as possible if I've ever made a mistake.

The Working Group's first meeting was today, and the person who brought up the scaremongering link quickly back-peddled, agreeing that we have much bigger fish to fry....

[QUOTE=chalsall;503368]The Working Group's first meeting was today, and the person who brought up the scaremongering link quickly back-peddled, agreeing that we have much bigger fish to fry....[/QUOTE]

A win for science! :smile:

[QUOTE]Our new adult cat has the habit of sleeping on top of our microwave... <snip> [B]In the 1970s Robert van Allen, for whom the van Allen radiation belts are named, made a statement that getting injured from a microwave oven was analogous to getting sunburn from moonlight! He even offered to sit on his oven 24 hours a day.[/B][/QUOTE]
The cat might be fine. The microwave not so much, especially if operating while cat-encumbered. Getting its ventilation ports covered by cat, or plugged with cat hair could have poor outcomes for the oven.

[QUOTE=kladner;503404]The cat might be fine. The microwave not so much, especially if operating while cat-encumbered. Getting its ventilation ports covered by cat, or plugged with cat hair could have poor outcomes for the oven.[/QUOTE]Yes, I thought of that. However, from what I have seen, keeping the vents clean on microwaves -- or refrigerators for that matter -- is not real high on a lot of folks' lists of priorities. And the result in either case can well be premature death of the appliance. However, these things must be engineered to withstand a fair amount of such abuse. I've seen vent holes that have been so clogged for so long, I wondered why the nuke or fridge hadn't melted into slag years ago.

Although I've never been successfully tempted by offers to let me pay for "extended warranties" or "extended protection plans," it would not surprise me in the least if failure to care properly for the appliance resulted in denial of payment under such a [strike]scam[/strike] plan. In that case, there could be a poor outcome for [strike]sucker[/strike] consumer, as their head explodes...

[QUOTE=kladner;503404]The cat might be fine. The microwave not so much, especially if operating while cat-encumbered.[/QUOTE]

That's incredibly funny! Thanks for that. :tu:

I'm picturing a microwave-themed version of the [i]Far Side[/i] panel picturing a cat sticking its head in the open door of a clothes dryer marked with a crude sign "Cat Fud (arrow pointing at dryer door)", while a dog stands furtive-human-style around a nearby corner, thinking to itself "oh, please ... oh, please..."

(That 'toon apparently resulted in Gary Larson receiving a bunch of hate mail from animal lovers.)