Apple blocks app that warns users of radiation levels

[Matty1973]

The inexpensive application for the iPhone tells owners when radiation levels have inched up too high and provides advice on how to counter the potentially damaging effects of phone radiation.
The company which invented the app says that its solution gives users the information and tools to avoid mobile phone radiation as much as possible.
It works by "mapping" homes or offices so they'll know where they're exposed to significant levels of mobile phone radiation............
The Tawkon app doesn't measure radiation but uses sophisticated software to advise when and where radiation levels might be high......
We give users the ability to see and feel non-ionizing radiation. Once you know whether you're in a red, orange or green zone, you have the information you need to take action.
The app relies on processing a dizzying array of factors, including your location, environmental factors such as the weather, Bluetooth functionality, how close your phone is to your body -utilizing the iPhone's proximity sensors how the phone is being held, vertically or horizontally, GPS, and even the phone's built-in compass.

from: Daily Telegraph

Can this work? "We give users the ability to see and feel non-ionizing radiation." Sounds a bit like woo to me.

 

[Rolfe]

I vote woo.

Rolfe.

 

[Jack by the hedge]

Well, the phone turns its radiated power up and down depending on how clearly it's able to communicate with the nearest cell mast, so the app could know how much RF the phone is radiating. The Bluetooth transponder emits a bit more if it's left on, and presumably detects the presence of nearby sources, so add that to the total. If the phone's lying flat, it's probably not held close to you, so exposure is less. If it's making a call, it's probably right next to your ear. I don't know what the compass's ability would be to detect magnetic field strength and variation, but there might be some extra clues there.

There's nothing woo-ish about all the above, but "It then prompts users with a vibration or tone when the radiation levels reach a dangerous threshold" sounds like scaremongering to me. "Non-ionising radiation" = radio waves, but sounds scarier. I'd like to see their justification for what constitutes a "dangerous threshold".

 

[DickK]

In this century, with our technology, there's only one way that radio waves are going to harm us, and it's called Chris Evans.

 

[BenBurch]

Apple did right.

 

[Michael Redman]

You can't run the ap while using the phone, so I'm not sure what the point is supposed to be.

 

[kmortis]

Well, the phone turns its radiated power up and down depending on how clearly it's able to communicate with the nearest cell mast, so the app could know how much RF the phone is radiating. The Bluetooth transponder emits a bit more if it's left on, and presumably detects the presence of nearby sources, so add that to the total. If the phone's lying flat, it's probably not held close to you, so exposure is less. If it's making a call, it's probably right next to your ear. I don't know what the compass's ability would be to detect magnetic field strength and variation, but there might be some extra clues there.

There's nothing woo-ish about all the above, but "It then prompts users with a vibration or tone when the radiation levels reach a dangerous threshold" sounds like scaremongering to me. "Non-ionising radiation" = radio waves, but sounds scarier. I'd like to see their justification for what constitutes a "dangerous threshold".

While I agree that the ap is probably crap onna stick, there are defined levels of "acceptable nonionizing radiation".

1910.97(a)(2)(i)

For normal environmental conditions and for incident electromagnetic energy of frequencies from 10 MHz to 100 GHz, the radiation protection guide is 10 mW/cm.(2) (milliwatt per square centimeter) as averaged over any possible 0.1-hour period. This means the following:

Power density: 10 mW./cm.2 for periods of 0.1-hour or more.

Energy density: 1 mW.-hr./cm.2 (milliwatt hour per square centimeter) during any 0.1-hour period.

This guide applies whether the radiation is continuous or intermittent.​

Source

 

[INRM]

So it basically tells you the data based on the weather, your location on earth, and the position of the phone?

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

Building this functionality into a device which has as its heart a two way radio makes as much sense as making a geiger counter out of uranium. It'll primarily detect its own presence. Good for apple in realizing what a useless product this is. Even better if they discarded it because of the scare tactics about 'non-ionizing radiation'.

A

 

[Brian-M]

Why would you need this app? The phone itself isn't going to produce dangerous levels of radiation, so it would only be of use to warn you away from locations where the RF radiation was dangerously high.

In in which case, you wouldn't need the phone because you'd be seeing these all around the place...

​

 

[TheDaver]

Non-ionizing radiation is, by its very nature, harmless. It’s ionizing radiation you need to worry about.

The program was made either for or by scaremongers, and Apple was right in removing it.

 

[kmortis]

Non-ionizing radiation is, by its very nature, harmless. It’s ionizing radiation you need to worry about.

The program was made either for or by scaremongers, and Apple was right in removing it.

Well, not harmless, just no long term effects. Once you're out of the field, the danger goes away. Unlike ionizing radiation where the effects can last well beyond the removal of the source. Trust me, if I were to put you in the chamber while we were radiating at 200V/m and you were to stay there for a while, you could get some nasty RF burns and depending on the frequency some deep tissue damage. Once we turned the field off, the damage would stop accumilating. Take you to a Co60 cell, however, you'd have all sorts of long lasting effects depending on how long you were exposed to the unshielded source.

Again, having said all that, I concur that the ap is crap and Apple did a good thing in blocking it. RF is maligned enough without crap like that adding fuel to the fire.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Non-ionizing radiation is, by its very nature, harmless. It’s ionizing radiation you need to worry about.

The program was made either for or by scaremongers, and Apple was right in removing it.

Try telling that to the gerbil in the microwave. A thousand watts of radiation can become problematic rather quickly.

 

[kmortis]

Try telling that to the gerbil in the microwave. A thousand watts of radiation can become problematic rather quickly.

Why are you putting gerbils in a microwave?

 

[BenBurch]

Why are you putting gerbils in a microwave?

They are yummy with cheese sauce.

 

[kmortis]

They are yummy with cheese sauce.

Ewww....

Wait. Do you shave them first?

 

[Bob Klase]

Building this functionality into a device which has as its heart a two way radio makes as much sense as making a geiger counter out of uranium. It'll primarily detect its own presence.

But it's not detecting anything really. So it makes as much sense as making a geiger counter that doesn't actually detect geigers but merely tells you where some might be.

(in the real world I do know that geiger counters don't detect 'geigers').

 

[kmortis]

But it's not detecting anything really. So it makes as much sense as making a geiger counter that doesn't actually detect geigers but merely tells you where some might be.

(in the real world I do know that geiger counters don't detect 'geigers').

It DOESN'T!? Well, there goes my plan on tracking down HR this summer....

 

[monoman]

Originally Posted by Daily Telegraph

...The app relies on processing a dizzying array of factors, including your location, environmental factors such as the weather, Bluetooth functionality, how close your phone is to your body -utilizing the iPhone's proximity sensors how the phone is being held, vertically or horizontally, GPS, and even the phone's built-in compass.

That is dizzying, I hope they used long variable names.

 

[shuttlt]

http://www.tawkon.com/technology
All it seems to be doing is detecting power levels given off by the phone and making some kind of judgement about how the user is holding the phone. From that it warns when the exposure is 'too much'. I suspect the woo comes in at the point where 'too much' is defined.