Are 5G base stations harmful to human body?

 Compared to 4G base stations, 5G is obviously more dense and seems to be closer to us, which makes people start to worry again: Are 5G base stations radioactive? Will it be harmful to our health? By the end of 2020, China has accumulated 718,000 5G base stations. With the steady progress of base station construction, many professionals predict that by 2021, China will have more than a million 5G base stations. Compared to 4G base stations, 5G is obviously more dense and seems to be closer to us, which makes people start worrying again: are there radiation from 5G base stations? Will it be harmful to our health? Many people are concerned about 5G base stations and the radiation they emit｜Pixabay Ordinary people are always instinctively afraid of the unknown, so in the process of promoting 5G coverage, we can also see such behavior: a crowd in the UK burned down a 5G base station, a resident in China refused to build a 5G base station near his neighborhood, "Shock! Cactus can absorb 5G radiation! Such articles are spreading in the circle of friends again. So are 5G base stations harmful to us or not? Before discussing this issue, let's understand the concept of "radiation". In our daily life, we often hear about the harmful effects of radiation on our body; we can see a lot of radiation protection products when we log in Taobao and search for them; the radiology department of hospitals also has warm tips posted everywhere. Radiation, these two words, seem to be born with dangerous spikes, intimidating? Radiation signs are synonymous with danger to many people｜Pixabay But in fact, as long as the temperature is above absolute zero (-273.15℃), all objects are constantly emitting radiation to the outside. Whether it's the stars in the sky, you and me on the ground, the air that you can't touch, or even the radiation suit itself, there is no exception. Radiation is everywhere, and you can't hide from it. If you are afraid of radiation, you will be like a bird in fear, and you can't have a moment of peace. If you are really afraid of radiation, you should calm down and find out what kind of radiation is harmful to your health. Scientists have divided our common electromagnetic radiation into two categories, one is called ionizing radiation and the other is called non-ionizing radiation. One significant difference between these two types of radiation is that the radiation energy (the energy contained in the radiation) is different, and the health risk of radiation depends mainly on the amount of radiation energy. Roughly speaking, ionizing radiation generally has a higher radiation energy and poses a certain risk to the human body. Common types of ionizing radiation include X-rays and gamma rays. Therefore, in order to reduce the damage caused by X-rays, the examiner needs to wear a lead suit to protect the non-examined area and the doctor needs to stay in the next room for the CT test. Non-ionizing radiation generally refers to lower energy radiation, such as visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, microwave, radio waves and so on. Generally speaking, the shorter the wavelength and the higher the frequency of electromagnetic waves, the higher the energy and the stronger the radiation hazard. Therefore, not all non-ionizing radiation is safe and harmless, for example, the shorter wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is harmful to our body. Therefore, not only do we need to leave the room when using UV lamps for indoor sterilization, but we also wear sunglasses and sunscreen in our daily life to protect our body from UV radiation. However, there is a saying in the field of science that "talking about toxicity without talking about measurement is a hooligan". Water is the most non-toxic and harmless substance, and we can't live without it every day, but drinking 10 liters of water a day is too much for anyone. Therefore, some people may say, although the X-rays radiation energy is very large, but the ordinary people will take a film once or twice a year. But 5G base station is different, it is right on our house, and it is radiating to us every second, and this kind of radiation is not natural, so the base station should not be artificially strengthened. 5G base stations are the same as 4G base stations, both use radio waves to transmit signals. So what is the level of radio wave radiation emitted by 5G base stations in operation? How much radiation will be emitted? While enjoying the convenience of 5G, people are always thinking about its potential risks｜Pixabay First of all, as we mentioned earlier, the higher the frequency of radiation, the shorter the wavelength, the higher the energy, and vice versa, the lower the frequency range of radio waves used in 5G signals, there are two general types of radio waves: one is centimeter wave, which is not too different from our current 2/3/4G. There is another, relatively high, belongs to the field of millimeter wave, but in our country is not yet deployed. But whether it is the previous 2G/3G/4G, or millimeter wave level 5G, its frequency is smaller than the visible light. Therefore, the energy contained in radio waves is lower than that of visible light in terms of radiation properties alone, so there is no harm to us. What about the power of the base station and the amount of radiation? The measurement standard of electromagnetic radiation of communication base station in China is: not more than 0.47W/m2 for 3500MHz and not more than 2W/m2 for 28GHz, this value means that the radiation level of a compliant base station is smaller than the radiation level of an electric appliance in an ordinary house. Then our standard will be more lenient than foreign countries? Don't worry, the measurement standard of electromagnetic radiation of communication base station in China is much stricter than EU and other developed countries in North America. Will the actual operation of the base station secretly increase the radiation level? There is no benefit to increase the radiation level for base stations, it is not necessary. And compared with some actual measurement values, we will find that the radiation level of base station is much lower than the national regulation line. So 5G base stations are so much faster than 4G base stations, is it because of the increased radiation? No, it is not. Just like our home wired network can be upgraded by bandwidth to increase the speed, 5G is faster than 4G because the bandwidth has increased. The increase in bandwidth is related to frequency, not by increasing the power of the base station or increasing the amount of radiation. And even millimeter wave level 5G communication, its frequency is lower than visible light, there is no harm to us. So if 5G base stations are built on our buildings, does that mean we will receive more radiation? Actually, it's the opposite. Radio waves are mainly transmitted in the horizontal direction, so the vertical direction of the base station is actually "dark" and the radiation is much weaker. Hundreds of years ago, people were afraid of taking pictures, afraid that their spirits would be trapped in the pictures. Nowadays, people's fear of 5G base stations also comes from the unknown and ignorance. But ignorance is not ignorance, the denial of the unknown and ignorance is the real ignorance. We should keep a more open and tolerant attitude towards emerging technologies, and learn and understand them if we have doubts, instead of being used by people who want to spread rumors. The 5G era will bring us a faster and better information and communication experience, and will promote the development of emerging technologies such as big data, cloud computing, Internet of Things, block chain, artificial intelligence, etc. The "high-speed information highway" paved by 5G technology will be a bridge for the development of digital economy and a new engine for the development of digital economy. Finally, let's look forward to a more convenient and free 5G era, and a better digital economy.