Introduction to Cell Phones
Today, cell phones have become widely used among our society. However, there has been some customer concern of human safety concerning the use of cell phones. Cell phones are know to emit low levels of radiofrequency energy in the microwave range while in use and while in the standby mode, which leads to many ethical issues.
History
It is very interesting to note that a cell phone is actually a radio. However, it is an extremely sophisticated radio. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876. Wireless communication can be traced back to the invention of the radio by Nikolai Tesla in the 1880's, which was presented by an Italian, Guglielmo Marconi, in 1894. By combining these two technologies people have come up with the making of the cell phone.
From the Dark Ages to Modern Times
Before cell phones were invented, people installed radio telephones in their central antenna tower per city and about twenty-five channels were available on that tower. The central antenna needed a powerful transmitter, enough to transmit forty to fifty miles. There were not enough channels for many people to use radio telephones. However, the cellular system, which is the division of a city into small cells, has allowed millions of people to use cell phones simultaneously. In the United States, a typical analog cell phone carrier receives 832 frequencies to use across the city. The phone carrier breaks up the city into cells, which are usually about ten square miles. Each cell has a base station which has a tower and a small building that contains the radio equipment. One cell in an analog system uses one seventh of the available duplex channels. Each cell phone uses two frequencies per call, thus, making it a duplex device. A duplex device means that one frequency is for talking while the other frequency is for listening and both people can talk at once. As for a simplex, such as a walkie talkie, two people communicate using the same frequency and only one person can talk at a time. In addition a walkie talkie usually has one channel while a cell phone can communicate on 1664 channels or more. Furthermore, a walkie talkie can transmit about one mile using a 0.25 Watt transmitter while a cell phone operates within cells, giving cell phones a wide range.
How Does It Work?
All cell phones have special codes associated with them, which are used to identify the phone, the phone's owner, and the service provider. When you firtst tun on the phone, it listens for a System Identification Code (SID) on the control channel, which is a special frequency that the phone and base station use to talk to one another. If the phone does not find any control channels, it is out of range, meaning there is no service. When it receives the SID, it compares it to the SID programmed into the phone. If the SIDs match then it is communicating within the home system. On the other hand, if the SID programmed in the phone does not match the SID on the control channel, then the phone is in roaming.
Radiation
The radiation we are exposed to vary from cell phone to cell phone. It is measured in W/kg(Watts per kilogram), ranging from 0.24 W/kg to about 1.49W/kg. According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, the specific absorption rate is "a way of measuring the quantity of radiofrequency energy that is absorbed by the body." The phone's maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 W/kg in order to pass the FCC certification. According to the FCC tests the SAR level with the phone next to the ear, the highest-radiation cell phone in the United States was the Motorola V120c with 1.55 W/kg and the lowest-radiation cell phone was the Qualcomm pdQ-1900 with 0.2634 W/kg. These levels of radiation were based on the digital rating of these models. Depending on how close the cell phone antenna is to the head, as much as 60 percent of the microwave radiation is absorbed by and actually penetrates the area around the head. Some reaches an inch to an inch-and-a-half into the brain. Some illnesses due to cell phone radiation include: cancer, brain tumors, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, fatigue, and headaches. The following shows the electromagnetic spectrum.
What is Inside?
Nowadays, cell phones are the most complex devices humans use on a daily basis. Modern cell phones process millions of calculations per second in order to decompress and compress one's voice stream. A cell phone contains an antenna, a circuit board, which is the brain of the phone, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a keyboard, a battery, and a speaker. The circuit board contains several computer chips, such as the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog chips. The speakers and microphones are very small. The microphone is no larger than a watch battery and the speaker is about the size of a dime.
Disposable Cell Phones
In the past, people have come up with many disposable products, such as, razors, diapers, cameras, and ball point pens. Cell phones can now be added to this list of disposable products. Three companies are making disposable cell phones and cost from $10 to $30 for about an hour of talk time. The first image below shows the invention by Randi Altschul, a toy designer, is one of the people who invented this type of phone. He has created a credit-card-sized paper cell phone. The size of this phone is 2-by-3 inches and is made by printing cell phone circuitry onto a paper substrate that is sealed and laminated. Instead of using wire, metallic inks are used. Hop-On Wireless has made a phone out of plastic. It is 2.25 inches wide, 4.25 inches tall, and 0.4 inches thick. However, this phone does not have a display. It only has a two button keypad. One button is to start a call and the other is to end it and to make a call, the user says the phone number to be called. The third phone is only semi-disposable. This is the second image below to your right. That is, a person is able to keep the handset, but replaces the disposable battery pack. This phone was created by Telespree and is described as "Over-the-Counter Wireless." It has two basic parts, which are the handset and the airclip. The handset is the plastic casing that has one button to make calls. The airclip is the disposable part and contains the battery and keeps track of available minutes. The airclips are available in 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes of use.
Ethical Issues
Now that I have introduced some background on cell phones and how they works, it is important to note that this technology does have some ethical issues that rise in our society. Many if not all people are fascinated the advancements humans have made in the technology world. We have come a long way in the last quarter century. From having alomst no electronic devices, to now relying on them for our everyday living. However, as we continue to be more reliant on electronic devices many ethical questions arise within the society.
There are many ethical issues that arise with the use of cell phones. The first issue is, who is responsible for the harm that is caused by the cell phones? Is it the consumers or the producers? Another issue would be, is the radiation that humans are exposed to harmful or not? Should there be more research done and what steps should be taken to prevent any health risks? Finally, the last issue is, should humans be used to study the health issues concerning cell phones?
Stakeholders
In this case the stakeholders would be the cell phone industry and the people who use cell phones. However, the most affected ones would be those who manufacture the cell phones because if actions need to be taken then they might stop the production of cell phones until they have come up with a better product that does not emit radiation or until research is complete and there is absolutely no evidence that cell phones harm human beings.
Conclusion
I think that the cell phone companies should put some type of label that warns the consumers about the radiation that is emitted, but it is up to the concumers to decide whether to use them or not. However, I do believe that research should continue until they have come up with a single conclusion of whether or not cell phones harm humans or not. As for the time being, there is no set conclusion on the effects of the use of cell phones. I think that more research should be done on animals until ther have a more concrete idea of the health issues on humans before they start using humans to study the health issues concerning cell phones.
How about if we just stick with these phones!