radiation

Buried deep in the pages of your cell phone manual is an often-ignored section on its Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), which is the measure of the amount of radio frequency (RF) energy (radiation) absorbed by the body when using your handset. Every phone is measured and rated, and in the U.S. and Canada, the maximum allowable SAR for any handset is 1.6 watts per kilogram. For our database of current cell phone SAR ratings, be sure to check out our chart of cell phone radiation levels for specific phones.

What we don't know, though, is whether or … Read more

Google+ finally allows nicknames, Priceline is killing Shatner, and a solar radiation storm crashes communication systems.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

People who wouldn't normally see auroras are being treated to stunning sights today thanks to the largest solar radiation storm since 2005.

The storm is creating colorful auroras throughout the North and South Poles that stretched to countries that don't normally see the lights, such as England. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has maps on its Web site of the likelihood of seeing a nearby aurora.

This video by Helge Mortensen shows the aurora borealis at Tromvik Norway:

This video by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a long duration flare erupting on the Sun and sending … Read more

Visually impaired people can soon start taking readings of radiation levels in Japan with a Geiger counter that announces its readings with a computer voice.

The Fukushima Prefectural Association of the Blind, based in the same prefecture as the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, helped create the Talking Geiger Counter based on the Geiger Fukushima from Sanwa Manufacturing.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is set to declare Friday that the Fukushima plant has been brought to a state of cold shutdown, meaning it has been cooled enough so nuclear reactions are not occurring and little radiation is being emitted.

But the … Read more

A new report from Argentinian scientists states that electromagnetic radiation in a laptop's Wi-Fi connection could take the swagger out of sperm.

The thought-provoking article, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, is the culmination of a study conducted by Conrado Avendano, a biochemist working for the Nascentis Center of Reproductive Medicine in Cordoba, Argentina, in conjunction with a group of medical professionals.

The study found that semen from 29 donors placed for four hours in room-temperature petri dishes 3 centimeters from a laptop actively connected to Wi-Fi showed "a significant decrease in progressive sperm motility and an … Read more

San Francisco may have gone too far in mandating warnings about the radiation coming out of cell phones, a federal judge ruled on Thursday.

The ruling, reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, called for San Francisco to tone down its message and to remove the requirement for retailers to post warnings on their walls.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the warnings created an "untrue and misleading" perception that cell phones are dangerous and "somehow escaped the regulatory process." He added that the rule overstates the risks posed by cell phones.

The ruling is part … Read more

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year left a swath of destruction and a legacy of lingering nuclear radiation concerns. Efforts have already been under way to get geiger counters into the hands of people throughout the country.

More iPhones will have the opportunity to join in. Scosche has just expanded its RDTX line of radiation detectors for iPhone and iPod Touch that combines external hardware with a metering app.… Read more

San Francisco and the CTIA are at odds yet again now that the wireless association has formally challenged cell phone warning legislation that the city passed earlier this year.

In a statement released Tuesday, John Walls, the CTIA's vice president of public affairs, called San Francisco's actions "both alarmist and false" and disputed any suggestion that the radio frequency (RF) emissions produced by cell phones have detrimental health effects. "The FCC and FDA have repeatedly found that cell phone use does not pose a danger," he said. "The Ordinance recommends such things as … Read more

Welcome to our first Buzz Out Loud Weekly, which is, ironically, our third show this week! It's a stair-step approach, really. We're recapping and analyzing Amazon's Kindle conflagration, wondering what the new iPhone 5 will look like and whether hidden retail skus do indeed point to a cheaper model, and pondering where to get free coffee on this, National Coffee Day. Plus, your calls and letters -- keep them coming!