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by CamperBob2 4064 days ago
In other news, fractal antennas don't work any better than any other antennas when immersed in a bag of salt water, which is what a cell is.
3 comments

"a bag of salt water, which is what a cell is"!!? Wow. It always amazes me how physicists manage to reduce the extremely complex and beautiful world of biology for their own computational comfort. Is your brain simply a "bag full of bags of saltwater"? The SAR test rationale assumes it is.
> Is your brain simply a "bag full of bags of saltwater"?

Also, sugar.

That's not completely accurate. If you consider the water to also be the antenna things are much more complicated.

The ocean blocks radio waves because it is much much larger than them. A small (very small) ocean would act like an antenna, not an insulator.

No, the ocean blocks radio waves because its index of refraction at RF is very different from that of free space, resulting in a massive impedance mismatch at the boundary. In bulk matter, this is a scale-independent phenomenon.
By that logic copper would also block RF.
Which it does. That Maxwell guy knew what he was talking about, believe it or not.
And yet it works as an antenna if it's the right size.

Salt water will also work as an antenna if it's the right size.

Which is what I said in my original message.

There's actually a lot more to the question than size. RF is all about boundary conditions, and everything else is a consequence of that fact. It's a fascinating area of study, and in all seriousness, I'd recommend you take a look at some of the underlying principles behind EM physics and propagation. It'll help you reject "not even wrong" bullshit like what's portrayed in this article, and even better, it'll give you a deeper appreciation for the way wireless technology actually works.
Very relevant here...

https://xkcd.com/793/