A group of Danish 9th graders decided to do a test about the effects of a WiFi signal on plant growth after noticing that they had a harder time concentrating after sleeping near their smartphones the previous night. Their results were shocking to much of the world and sparked debate in Denmark about potential health risks from mobile phones and WiFi equipment. These girls found that the plants out of the range of the signal grew normally while the ones near the signal turned brown and died.
A similar study was performed three years when people noticed that some trees in urban areas where showing "bark bumps." The experiment involved 20 different ash trees exposed to various types of radiation. The trees began to show typical signs of radiation sickness, including a lead-like shine on their leaves.
NOS Themes:
Science is repeatable
Science is based on evidence.
Article:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2013/05/can-wifi-signals-stunt-plant-growth/
That is a very interesting article. Imagine how wifi signals might affect other things, for example us. This is very similar to the debates about cellphone signals and the damage the radiation can cause. Do you know if this was a controlled experiment, I imagine there might be other factors to contributed to this.
ReplyDeleteI just read online that the Dutch government's Antenna Agency has been trying to convince people that wi-fi doesn't affect plant growth. They don't believe that there is any evidence to support it. Also, the scientists that originally found the findings have been unable to repeat the experiment with the same results.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20023615-501465.html
This is an interesting observation in the NOS theme of role of repeatability. With the prevelance of Wi-fi nowadays, there has to be some other research on this topic, especially if there is any effect on human health.
ReplyDeleteWiFi has become so ubiquitous in the last few years that if there was a safety concern found now it would probably have a big impact on the economy. Many health agency's around the world have tested its safety and haven't found any serious health concerns. United Kingdoms Health Protection Agency has determined that exposure to WiFi for a year is abut the same as a 20min cell phone call.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6677051.stm
This is very interesting. You would never think that wifi would affect plant growth. I found another experiment that was tested in California and they got the same results. Now that we have found out this discovery, is there going to be changes to our wifi to lessen the affect on plants?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2011/Projects/S1708.pdf