Can a computer generate an electromagnetic transmission?

[lion el jhonson]

So my dad says that I spend to much time on my computer, he says it doesn't help me relax but it does. He then went on to say how it wasn't good for my health, nothing wrong with that because that is true, but the reason he gave me was that my computer generated electromagnetic transmissions. Ya know like cell phones do, I think. I don't wanna call him wrong till I know, for a FACT, that he is wrong. So is he?

 

[username sucks]

Technically, visible light is a form of electromagnetic radiations.
Tell your dad that when he turns on the light that he is basking everyone who walks in the room with radiation.

 

[Redingold]

If you have a CRT monitor, yes.
These monitors fire cathode rays right at your face, so they're not the best for your health.

If you have a flat-panel monitor however, you'll be fine.

As for the computer itself, no, the metal case acts as a Faraday cage of sorts, so very little electromagnetic radiation leaks out.

Besides, if someone's concerned about this, they should also be concerned about wireless routers/access points, and cordless phones (and cellphones, but you've already mentioned them).

Cathode rays are not electromagnetic radiation, they are beams of electrons.

Every object in the entire universe emits electromagnetic radiation at some level, due to Planck's black-body law. What you need to worry about is whether the radiation is dangerous, and it certainly isn't for a computer. Computers will emit visibly light from the screen, infrared light from their temperature, and microwaves from wireless connectors. None of these are dangerous at the intensities that they appear at.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Yeah computers generate electromagnetic radiation, they have options in the BIOS to reduce it (spread-spectrum).
However this is not dangerous to us it only interferes with other electric equipment.

 

[teqrevisited]

Modern monitors emit so little radiation that it's barely worth noting. You might get eye strain after prolonged periods of use and some people experience headaches but those effects can be delayed or diminished by turning the brightness of the screen down.

 

[FalloutJack]

Modern monitors emit so little radiation that it's barely worth noting. You might get eye strain after prolonged periods of use and some people experience headaches but those effects can be delayed or diminished by turning the brightness of the screen down.

Basically, what he said. True, all electric devices give off EMP, but frankly you need alot of EM-anything before it affects a human. Technology is a wonderful thing sometimes. Your dad is just trying to get you into more physical activities because of the TIME spent, not because it will hurt you. If he becomes too irritating, take a walk every now and then and he'll have nothing to complain about.

 

[SpAc3man]

Old CRTs were pretty bad but the newer ones had decent shielding in the glass. LCDs are fine and there is nothing inside the metal, grounded case that could cause any significant electromagnetic radiation. Beyond the case there is a big fat nothing as it acts as a Faraday cage.

Worst issue is eye strain from the monitor. To avoid that to some degree you should make sure the wall/area behind the monitor is well lit and don't have the brightness too high.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Everything plugged into a power source does, so yeah.

If you mean is it going to cause cancer or something...nah. Same as phones don't.

 

[antidonkey]

Everything the runs on electricity generates an electromagnetic field. That means computers, TVs, cell phones, blenders, etc. The amount is very small and unless you keep your computer tower on your lap, you're fine.

 

[Esotera]

It transmits light as others have said, and there might be a possibility you'll get electromagnetic noise from internal components like the CPU? I don't really know about the internal workings in that much detail.

I doubt electromagnetic transmissions are going to hurt you, you're more likely to get addicted to computer use.

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

If your computer has a wireless card, then yes, your computer emits electromagnetic transmissions.

I suspect your dad said that out of ignorance and some innate distrust of computers in general, however he is actually still right.

Everything electronic can still generate very minute electromagnetic emissions as simple by produtcs of their operation. Secret Services around the world involved in cyber-espionage take advantage of this through something called TEMPEST (Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard) whereby they can still read bits of your computer's data simply by a device being near it.

Of course, I doubt any of this actually affects your health.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

-snip-

If your computer has a wireless card, then yes, your computer emits electromagnetic transmissions.

I suspect your dad said that out of ignorance and some innate distrust of computers in general, however he is actually still right.

Everything electronic can still generate very minute electromagnetic emissions as simple by produtcs of their operation. Secret Services around the world involved in cyber-espionage take advantage of this through something called TEMPEST (Transient Electromagnetic Pulse Emanation Standard) whereby they can still read bits of your computer's data simply by a device being near it.

Of course, I doubt any of this actually affects your health.

Yeah, I'm surprised it took this long for someone to point out that wifi (and Bluetooth, for that matter) are radiation in the same band as cell phone radiation. Not that Cell Phone radiation is actually dangerous. The most it's been shown to do is raise the temperature of your brain by a similar amount to putting your head on a pillow. So I guess if you're worried about your pillow causing brain cancer...