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Comment by rramadass | Hacker News Reader

More info;

1) Extremely low frequency - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extremely_low_frequency

2) Communication with Submarines - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_with_submarines

An important addendum is the subject of "Underwater Acoustic Communication" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_acoustic_communicat...

RF Science is fascinating. Now might be a good time to ask; Does anybody have any recommendations on scientific books/papers/articles on the effects of RF spectrum (all frequencies) on Human Biology and Physiology? There is a lot of nonsense/hysteria out there but i would like to know the actual experimental evidence and science.

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The ARRL has some good writing on RF exposure. Basically everything I've read comes down to treating radiated RF energy as thermal risk. So it's not magic stuff that will give you cancer or cause your cells to turn inside out or something, it's just going to raise the temperature of whatever region of your body the signal is going to interact with. Could be 0.003 degrees C, could be 30 degrees C -- all that depends on the energy involved.

But that's at HF frequencies and above, not this VLF stuff which is somewhat of a different beast. Risks there are probably similar to AC mains power distribution, I would guess: touch it and get a nasty shock, don't touch it and you're fine.

Thermal effect of RF Energy (proportional to frequency) is well known. It is the reported non-thermal effects at lower frequencies eg. on cognitive function, nausea, headaches, fatigue, brain chemistry, nervous tissue, cancer etc. which seem controversial and afaik not definitively established.

However given that lower frequencies can penetrate deeper into the body, its effects on bio-electric field/currents which in turn change body chemistry may be non-trivial. Here is a WHO publication on ELF Fields - https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241572385

The DOD terms are RADHAZ and HERP (Hazards of EM Radiation to Personnel.) There is plenty of literature out there on what frequencies turn you into a microwave oven for cooking your insides, based on your length as a living antenna.

Any specific ones you would care to recommend?

PS: I found Electromagnetic Fields of Wireless Communications: Biological and Health Effects edited by Dimitris Panagopoulos.

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