Electromagnetic Waves and the Human Body

This project is to explore how different electromagnetic waves on the spectrum affect the human body in order to limit our exposure to these types of waves.

• How do different wavelengths of electromagnetic waves affect the human body and homeostasis?

In our modern-day era, almost everything we do when it comes to studying, playing, and purchasing could be done through electronic devices or all sorts of different technological devices. These devices emit all sorts of electromagnetic waves with different wavelengths that affect the human body differently. Especially during this pandemic, people have been staying at home all day doing nothing but using their electronic devices which could have catastrophic effects on your body long-term. Because of this, we must know how this exposure will affect ourselves whether it's from visible light, UV light, microwaves, or even x-rays.

• I hypothesize that if we expose ourselves to all sorts of electromagnetic waves then it will have a negative toll on our bodies no matter what the electromagnetic wave is.

I formulated this hypothesis since it's known that having too much of anything in the world (such as water) will eventually harm our body rather than help it. With this logic, we know that being exposed to more and more electromagnetic waves will negatively affect our bodies. The excessive exposure time needed on the human body to seriously affect is becoming more common due to everyone staying at home during this pandemic. With this in mind, I know that all sorts of electromagnetic waves will negatively affect the human body, especially during these times.

• CONTROLLED

Person: In the experimental part of this project, I need to use the same person to experiment on which will be myself. This will minimize the factors in the experiment.

LED Light Source: When it comes to visible light in the experimental part, I would need to use the same light source so the results will be accurate when it comes to the different wavelengths of visible light. This should make the results have fewer factors too.

Duration of Exposure: The duration of the exposure must be the same to ensure that the effects are going to be consistent when we compare different wavelengths. This will shed light on which wavelengths are more harmful than others and it will simultaneously lower the factors.

Sources (to some extent): Most of the project will be research-based which means the sources that I use should back up each other or should be the same, this will make the data provided more reliable and relevant while making the factors as minimal as possible.

• INDEPENDENT

The wavelength of the electromagnetic wave: The thing that I will be changing consistently throughout this experiment is the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave which is why I want to see which lights are going to be more harmful to the human body.

• DEPENDENT

The effect and harmfulness: The thing that I want to measure in this project is to see how harmful electromagnetic waves could be on the human body and how they could affect us in different ways. From this, I can make a general conclusion whether exposure for long periods of time could be harmful and then specifically talk about which lights are more harmful than the others.

• Electromagnetic waves are waves that are composed of oscillating magnetic and electric fields.

• There are two main types of electromagnetic waves which are the non-ionizing radiation and the ionizing radiation

• The different classifications of electromagnetic waves (from the longest to shortest wavelengths) are:

1. Radiowaves
2. Microwaves
3. Infrared
4. Visible Light
5. UV
6. X-rays
7. Gamma rays

• The different wavelengths and frequencies of wavelengths affect the human body differently

For the experimental part of the project, the materials would be:

• Light Source:

In addition to the research, I'll experiment with how visible light affects me by using the same light source (preferably an LED light) that emit different colors with different wavelengths

• Radiation Detector Tool

This tool will be used to see how different wavelengths of light give out different amounts of radiation and then research how these different levels of radiation will affect the human body

Experimental Part:

1. Stay in an enclosed dark room with the LED light being the only light source in the room and calculate the radiation before entering
2. Turn on the light source and continue doing my daily actions such as studying and writing (things that don't require electronic devices)
3. Stay in there for 5 hours then calculating the radiation afterward while noting down some of the things that I've felt
4. Repeat that for different light sources

Research Part:

1. Research and see if the effects I've felt matches the research made online
2. Research about other more dangerous types of waves such as x-rays, UV rays
3. Make a final conclusion on how these different wavelengths of electromagnetic waves affect the human body

• Blue and White Light:

Blue light, a light with a wavelength between 400 and 525 nm, is one of the most common forms of visible light that we are exposed to on a regular basis. Blue light's main source is from the sun, but it's also commonly found in LED displays, TV screens, smartphones, monitors, and fluorescent lights. This light is a more harmful type of visible light since our eyes can't block it as well as other wavelengths. As a result, this light can cause severe eye strains and headaches with long periods of exposure and it's also known for suppressing the production of melatonin, which is the hormone responsible for making humans feel sleepy.

• Yellow Light:

Yellow light, a light with a wavelength between 570–590 nm, is also a light that is common in our everyday routines. Yellow lights are found in many types of lightbulbs nowadays and it's a particularly useful color of light. The yellow light has no blue-light wavelengths, which has a lot of glare. For this reason, yellow light is used in activities that need sharp and precise vision such as hunting. Also, this light doesn't suppress the production of melatonin which makes it a suitable light to use during the night.

• Microwaves:

Microwaves, which are waves with a wavelength between a millimeter and a meter, are a form of electromagnetic radiation that is used in heating up objects, especially food. If the human body is exposed to the radiation of microwaves, then the tissues will burn such as how food could burn for a bit longer time of exposure. The most vulnerable parts of the body are the eyes and the testes since the blood flow in those areas is restricted, which means less heat is absorbed by the blood which causes a more severe burn.

• UV Rays:

Ultraviolet rays, which are waves with a wavelength between 100-400 nm, which is also a form of electromagnetic radiation. UV light's main source is from the sun (most of it is blocked by the ozone layer), but when it does reach the skin it can cause devastating effects. UV light can cause wrinkles, liver spots, actinic keratosis, and solar elastosis. Moreover, it can also permanently damage the eye by burning the cornea (front of the eye).

• X-rays:

X-rays, which are rays with a wavelength of 0.01 to 10 nm, are rays that are most commonly used in the medical field in order to examine the body. This type of ray works by sending a high-energy ray through our body which can't be absorbed by soft tissue such as skin but can be absorbed by hard tissue such as the bone. Because of this, we can see bones once we do an x-ray. There are some side effects of the large dose of radiation which include bleeding, fainting, vomiting, hair loss, etc. while there are some more severe effects for longer exposure such as a high risk of developing cancer.

• Blue and White Light

Due to the ability of blue light to penetrate through the eye and hit the retina, then blue light can really affect humans. This is dangerous since prolonged exposures to blue-light could possibly lead to macular degeneration (wearing down of the retina). Macular degeneration is an eye disease that would get worse over time and could lead to permanent blindness. Moreover, blue light can have less catastrophic effects such as suppressing the production of melatonin (the hormone of sleepiness) which would unbalance and disrupt the circadian rhythm (sleep schedule and the biological clock).

• Yellow Light

This type of light doesn't affect a person much but is considered to be one of the most ideal light colors. This is because it doesn't have much of a negative effect on the human body compared to other more extreme visible light wavelengths such as blue light and white light (which has similar wavelengths to blue light).

• Microwaves

Since microwaves use metal to eject energy and make it bounce around the microwave, microwave radiation could be reflected and severely burn the human flesh. Even if there are little microwaves hitting the body, with enough time the human flesh would burn. This could then lead to the breakdown of the skin.

• UV Rays

UV rays will cause cataracts, which is the clouding in the eyes, which later causes the burning of the cornea. That means that there will be permanent vision loss and scarring. Furthermore, UV rays can mutate and damage the genetic material in the DNA which would later cause skin cancer. Skin cancer can cause the development of other types of cancer which would eventually cause death without proper treatment.

• X-Rays

Since x-rays send ionizing radiation through the body (which is normally stopped by the bone), there could be some permanent damage. If the dose of ionizing radiation is more than is required, electrons will be ejected from molecules and atoms in the cells. Because of this, this electron can generate energy which would cause different chemical reactions which could lead to many things. This could affect the DNA and cause a mutation in a gene and cause cancer (similar to the radiation of UV rays). This means that different types of cancer could develop depending on the location of the mutation, which could lead to the development of more types of cancer which would lead to death without proper treatment.

In conclusion, there are a few things to take from this:

1. Different electromagnetic waves won't hurt you alone, but the prolonged exposure will cause damage.
2. Electromagnetic waves on the lower part of the spectrum (with higher frequencies) tend to be more harmful.
3. Ionizing radiation is more harmful than non-ionizing radiation since it has more energy.
4. The severity of the effects of these waves depends on the duration of the exposure.
5. Most electromagnetic waves can cause a range of different problems in the human body that disrupts homeostasis

Advice

1. Put your digital devices away at least 2 hours before bedtime: the devices emit blue lights which will affect the circadian rhythm. Keeping the light away will make the Melatonin produce and become normal which will get you rested. Being well-rested helps the body protect itself from harm, and being unrested will make the body exposed to health problems.
2. Adjust your screen brightness and keep on warm-colored lights (which could be known as night-shift mode): By lowering your screen's brightness, you are playing a significant role in limiting the exposure of the blue lights and it won't disturb the Melatonin as much. While turning on the night-shit mode will make the wavelengths produced by the screen longer which won't suppress the Melatonin as much as it used to when it was at shorter wavelengths.
3. Use devices with small screens: The exposure to blue light could depend on the size of the screen, so having a small surface area would result in less exposure to the harmful light.
4. Change your living areas with warmer lights: Instead of having "white" lights, you can invest in yellow-orange colored lights which will reduce the duration of being exposed to the blue light spectrum. The lights will be sleep-friendly. If you would prefer white lights, then you can purchase smart lights, these lights will turn warm at night to make it sleep-friendly and user friendly at the same time.
5. Invest in protective eyewear: You can protect yourself by buying glasses that block out the blue lights, it's advised to use an anti-reflective coating on the lens since they block extra blue light exposure.

It's important to keep this into consideration since you're exposing yourself to all sorts of electromagnetic waves in your everyday life, especially during quarantine. When you are always exposed to a different color of light due to your routine, there could be some effects that aren't noticeable with the visible eye or could reach the point of no return before taking action. Because of this, it's important to know how these different types of electromagnetic waves will affect you before exposing yourself to them for long periods of time. After knowing this information, there must be some precautions that should take place in order to stay safe.

• Research Skills

Since more than half of this project was research-based, I've learned how to filter the sources that come up related to the topic. Because of this, I was able to find the most accurate information on this subject in the shortest amount of time.

• Self-Management Skills

In the experimental part of the project, I wanted to keep myself secluded in a room alone with the only light source to be either blue or yellow light. I needed to manage my schedule in order to stay in such a room for a fairly long period of time (5 hours).

• Thinking Skills

In order to make conclusions based on the results gather and analyzed, I needed to use critical thinking skills in order to make logical conclusions and educated guesses on how the body will be affected. I also backed up my thoughts with information gathered previously in order to create a solution and know what lights you must refrain from (creative thinking).

• Collaboration Skills

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• Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Microwave Oven Radiation.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/resources...
• Team, The Nevada Eye. “How Does Ultraviolet Light Damage Your Eyes?” Las Vegas Eye Care - Ophthalmology & Optometry - Nevada Eye Physicians, Nevada Eye Physicians, 14 July 2020, www.nevadaeyephysicians.com/nevada-eye-physicians...
• Manager. “Home.” Diagnostic Imaging Pathways, Department of Health Western Australia, 2 Aug. 2017, www.imagingpathways.health.wa.gov.au/index.php/co...
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