COVID-19 and 5G

Many people have been sending me internet videos claiming that there is no coronavirus (Wuhan virus) but that the COVID-19 disease is caused by 5G telephony signals, which are slowly being installed around the world. In some cases the argument is that 5G network emissions at 60 GHz ionises oxygen molecules in the air and that inhibits peoples ability to breath. Here I would like to assess this claim in light of what I do know to be true.

I am a PhD physicist who has spent more than 20 years working in the field of microwave signal generation, building ultra stable microwave oscillators (or clocks). I do know something about physics especially at frequencies between a few GHz and 100 GHz. That is, I know something about microwave and millimetre wave radio physics.

The argument that 5G telephony radiation causes COVID-19 disease is total nonsense. It is false from a factual physical perspective. In the following I present some objective facts (which don’t depend on opinion).

Frequency

5G is mostly being rolled out in various countries at the lower frequencies near 3.5 GHz (like home wifi) and in some cases 24 GHz. Some countries have approved these frequency bands but that does not mean they have implemented those higher frequencies yet. To operate at 60 GHz would need an enormous infrastructure change, which would be extremely expensive. I know the US 4 telcos cannot afford the US $300 billion price to build a 5G network so they are converting their 4G networks to 5G.

The idea that 60 GHz electromagnetic millimetre wave radiation would break oxygen molecules is absurd. Oxygen molecules have a natural vibrational mode, like a dumbell vibration, at 60 GHz but radiation at that frequency does not break up the molecules. To do that you need ionising radiation like X-rays or higher frequency gamma rays. So it is nonsense to say this is happening to oxygen.

By the way, the atmospheric temperature is measured by satellites using the strength of oxygen absorption at this 60 GHz frequency. It is a naturally occurring process and indicates how warm the oxygen is. The more the molecules vibrate at this frequency the warmer they are.

Power level

The power levels of 5G transmission at the receivers is extremely low. It will be much higher at the transmitter on the tower but no public is allowed up there.

The power level received at your phone is nothing like would be used in a microwave weapon. In the latter case, scientists try to achieve thousands of Watts of power if not higher, but WiFi and telephony signals at the receivers have signal power levels of a millionth to a billionth of a Watt or less. It is the advanced algorithms, modulation techniques (learned from satellite communication technology) and improved hardware that gives much higher data fidelity.

There is a big advantage of using higher frequencies than 700-900 MHz of the typical 3G networks or 1.6 GHz to 2.4 GHz of 4G. However a higher frequency does not mean higher power in the beam necessarily. It means the individual photons carry more energy, but as I said the total power is extremely small at the receiver.

Having said that, the cell phone itself may transmit as much as 1 Watt of power from the handset when it is actively being used. The industry uses the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) as the standard. The value in W/kg strongly depends on the geometry of the part of the body that is exposed to the RF energy, and on the exact location and geometry of the RF source. Thus tests must be made with each specific source, such as a mobile phone model, and at the intended position of use. Since the energy density from the antenna falls off roughly as the inverse square of the distance you can rapidly reduce the intensity of radiation falling on your body by keeping the device away from your body.

However this discussion is not about the energy from mobile phones during it operation but about the integrated effects of the radiation from the transmitters in the roll out of the next generation (5G) cellular networks.

Effect on the body

The higher the frequency the less penetration into the body. Millimetre waves (30 GHz and higher) do not penetrate the skin. Their wavelengths are too small. What about at lower frequencies?

For a long time there has been significant research into the health effects of EMF radiation. The Union of RadioScience International (USRI) have a commission (K) dedicated to this and they have been studying it for a long time. Others also are studying its effects.

Thermal effects: Measurements have shown an increase in the temperature in a human head of 1 degree can occur when 3G style phones were used. This is from the phone held against the users head. That was at a frequency of 900 MHz with a 33 cm wavelength at power levels around about 1W. And such radiation does penetrate a lot more than a 60 GHz signal would with a 5 mm wavelength.

Non-thermal effects: The outcomes of the research so far have not been very clear except in the case of thermal effects in the body at lower frequencies (ie. 900 MHz etc). Above 30 GHz (millimetre waves) the penetration depth is very small (< 5 mm). Non-thermal effects have been much harder to quantify and research is ongoing.

I do not rule out the idea that EMF pollution is not good for our health, and that it may be unhealthy to the environment. But any claim needs to be evidence based. Also I don’t doubt some people have EMF sensitivities (many cases have been reported) but even that has been very hard to quantify. The WHO have classified EMF radiation in category 2B, which is only as potentially carcinogenic. That is, it has not been proven.

Though I say that the hysteria about COVID-19 and oxygen molecules is nonsense, I would not recommend you use a mobile phone of any type pushed against your face. Keeping it away from your body reduces the absorbed radiation. It is of great concern that so many children use mobile phones of any flavour 4G, or 5G.

For all health issues humans need a good supply of antioxidants, not just from some putative effect due to EMFs. Good nutrition and in particular organic whole food ancestral diet with whole food vitamin and mineral intake needs to be embraced to counter any actual damage any type of radiation may cause. But none of this is specific to 5G radiation. It would also apply to WiFi and all other sources of EM radiation.

As mentioned above some countries are going to simply upgrade their 4G networks to 5G by hardware changes and improves algorithms. So it would be quite incorrect to single out 5G, except that the latter is projected to be vastly more all encompassing, ie. no dead spots etc. Privacy and surveillance issues are a far bigger concern in my opinion, with the concomitant development of the police state.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no evidence to claim that 5G EM radiation either causes or makes the COVID-19 virus infection worse. Where is the scientific evidence for such an unfounded claim? There simply isn’t any. And 60 GHz millimetre wave radiation does not ionise oxygen molecules in the atmosphere so it does not cause a breathing problem for people. Such claims are absurd.