A predicted Mechanism for Biological Effects of Radio-Frequency Electro-Magnetic Fields: Piezoelectric Rectification

Currently, safety guidelines for exposure to radio-frequency radiation (RFR) from cellphones or other wireless devices consider only thermal heating. Although some non-thermal effects are well established experimentally (microwave hearing effect, cellular release of calcium and free radicals, stress response and DNA damage), for many effects the physical mechanism remains unclear.It has long been known that bones, and in particular, the collagen in bones, exhibit the piezoelectric effect on the same scale (0.7 pC/N) observed in quartz crystals. It has been proposed that this effect is fundamental for regulating bone growth. Less well known is that piezoelectric substances have been shown to rectify RFR at frequencies up to at least 2.9 GHz. The rectified voltage is proportional to the power of the incident RF field. We claim, that exposures to cellphones, cordless phones, Wi-fi and microwave ovens may result in DC fields comparable to those used by the body to regulate growth of bones and possibly other tissues, given that collagens are found throughout the human body and throughout the kingdoms of life. The scale of such currents is a few milliamps or less, perhaps even less than a microamp. Applied DC electric fields of 1V/m can affect nerve firing rates.In animal experiments, microwave exposure comparable to or weaker than a cellphone has caused permeabilization of the blood-brain barrier, an effect previously seen after brain stimulation with a DC current of 5 mA.In the absence of a clear mechanism for explaining health effects (leukemia, Alzheimer's) associated with high-voltage transmission lines, biological rectification of RFR (present due to corona discharge and “dirty power”) might play a role, as RFR is more penetrating than 60 Hz electric fields, and may induce more current than 60 Hz magnetic fields.