Mobile Phone Usage

Task 1:
When you use your mobile phone to ring your friends mobile phone, many different things occur. They make
and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by
connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone
network.
Your phone converts your voice into an electrical signal, which is then transmitted as radio waves and
converted back into sound by your friends phone. A basic mobile phone is therefore little more than a
combined radio transmitter and a radio receiver, quite similar to a walkie-talkie. Cellular networks enable you
to communicate however far away your friends. This is done by diving up land into a patch work of cells.
Cells are hexagonal areas of land, each equipped with their own phone mast, also called a base station. These
base stations pick up the weak signals from your phone and relay it onwards to another base station nearer to
your friend via cables. If youre on the move while you talk, your phone switches stations as you go without
interrupting your call. Your phone does this as the cells overlap each other so that there will always be a
connection.
Without the use of cells, there are a limited number of radio frequencies available to mobile phone networks
(typically around 800). Furthermore, a mobile phone conversation requires one frequency for speaking
(transmitting) and one for listening (receiving). As a consequence, just 400 conversations could use up all the
available bandwidth.
However, using cells means that the same frequencies scan be re-used by each cell. IN busy areas such as city
centres, a denser network of base stations and smaller cells ensure there are enough frequencies for everyone.

Task 2
Cellular networks enable you to communicate however far away your friends. This is done by diving up land
into a patch work of cells. Cells are hexagonal areas of land, each equipped with their own phone mast, also
called a base station. These base stations pick up the weak signals from your phone and relay it onwards to
another base station nearer to your friend via cables. If youre on the move while you talk, your phone switches
stations as you go without interrupting your call. Your phone does this as the cells overlap each other so that
there will always be a connection.
Without the use of cells, there are a limited number of radio frequencies available to mobile phone networks
(typically around 800). Furthermore, a mobile phone conversation requires one frequency for speaking
(transmitting) and one for listening (receiving). As a consequence, just 400 conversations could use up all the
available bandwidth.
However, using cells means that the same frequencies scan be re-used by each cell. IN busy areas such as city
centres, a denser network of base stations and smaller cells ensure there are enough frequencies for everyone.

Task 3

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The
electromagnetic spectrum extends from below the low frequencies used for modern radio communication to
gamma radiation at the short-wavelength (high frequency) and, thereby covering wavelengths from thousands
of kilometres down to a fraction of the size of an atom. The limit for long wavelengths is the size of the universe
itself, while it is thought that the short wavelength limit is the vicinity of the Planck length. Until the middle of
last century it was believed by most physicist that this spectrum was infinite and continuous.

Task 4
Health effects of:
Gamma rays: Because of the gamma ray's penetrating power and ability to travel great distances, it is
considered the primary hazard to the general population during most radiological emergencies. In fact, when
the term "radiation sickness" is used to describe the effects of large exposures in short time periods, the most
severe damage almost certainly results from gamma radiation.
X rays: Ionising radiation can cause cell damage. Being exposed to significant amounts of radiation from X-rays
and CT scans may increase your risk of developing cancer a decade or more into the future. However, this risk
is low and needs to be weighed up against the benefits. We are all exposed to background radiation in our daily
lives from the food and water we ingest, the air we breathe, the soil and other environmental sources.
UV light: The health effects of exposure to UV light are familiar to anyone who has had a sunburn. However,
the UV light levels around some UV equipment greatly exceeds the levels found in nature. Acute (short-term)
effects include redness or ulceration of the skin. At high levels of exposure, these burns can be serious. For
chronic exposures, there is also a cumulative risk of harm. This risk depends upon the amount of exposure
during your lifetime. The long-term risk for large cumulative exposure includes premature aging of the skin and
even skin cancer.
Infrared light: Skin exposed to IR provides a warning mechanism against thermal effect in the form of pain.
Eyes, on the other hand, may not. Since the eye cannot detect IR, blinking or closing the eyes to help prevent or
reduce damage may not happen. IR raises the internal temperature of the eye, essentially baking it. Medical
studies indicate that prolonged IR exposure can lead to lens, cornea and retina damage, including cataracts,
corneal ulcers and retinal burns, respectively.
Microwaves: Microwave energy can be absorbed by the body and produce heat in exposed tissues. Organs with
a poor blood supply and temperature control, such as the eye, or temperature-sensitive tissue like the testes,
have a higher risk of heat damage. However, thermal damage would only occur from long exposures to very
high power levels, well in excess of those measured around microwave ovens.
Radio waves: Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as from radiation therapy, is known to increase the risk of
cancer. However, although many studies have examined the potential health effects of non-ionizing radiation
from radar, microwave ovens, and other sources, there is currently no consistent evidence that non-ionizing
radiation increases cancer risk.

Task 5

Anytime the power is turned on, cell phones emit electromagnetic radiation, even in stand-by mode and
regardless if carried on belts, in pockets or purses, expose other areas of the body to harmful ELF radiation, as
well. Side effects from cell phone radiation ranging from occasional headaches and fatigue to enzyme changes
that affect DNA and cell growth and can result in cancer. But, thats not all. Cellphones emit electromagnetic
radiation from its antenna, as well as from the circuitry and battery all of which can cause harmful biological
effects