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by yongjik 4394 days ago
According to Wikipedia[1], the solar radiation at Earth is roughly 1361 W/m^2 at the top of the atmosphere. The atmosphere will deflect a small fraction of it, but won't change the value much. Therefore, if you draw a circle of 2-inch diameter on your palm and hold it out toward the sun in a sunny day, that circle receives about 3W of energy (0.0254^2 * pi * 1361 = 2.76), i.e., greater than all the energy your body receives from a "Power Class 1" mobile phone (assuming you somehow magically absorb ALL its radiation).

Not to mention that the solar radiation actually contains ionizing UV rays. Sunlight is vastly more likely to cause cancer than cell phones. Literally.

If you're so worried about radiation, use sunscreen. You're welcome.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_constant

1 comments

Thanks for the Strawman ! I did not expect this one. First, where did I ever write that I was worried about radiations ? I was simply clarifying what I meant when i said that the emissions were different between a wifi router and a mobile phone. If I say an apple and an orange are different, does it mean i'm worried about eating those?

> Not to mention that the solar radiation actually contains ionizing UV rays.

I guess the ozone layer is completely useless then. I'm glad I learn things on HN every day.

> Sunlight is vastly more likely to cause cancer than cell phones. Literally.

Where did I mention anything about Cancer ?