Electromagnetic shielding mats: facts and fiction.
The use of electricity is accompanied by electric and magnetic fields which, intended or not, became a part of our environment. However, fear from environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs) is widespread and so is business with fear. A number of more or less serious products including miracle products are placed on the market partly at excessive costs. By numerical simulation the efficiency of electromagnetic shielding mats was investigated and claims of manufacturers and their cited expert opinions checked. It could be shown that such products do not fulfil the justified expectations of customers, neither in the extremely low frequency (ELF) nor in the radiofrequency (RF) range. On the contrary, these mats usually make things even worse. The connection to ground, if available, might increase the belief on shielding efficiency, but in fact it even enhances fields instead of improving shielding. The electric conductivity of the mat material plays a minor role in the ELF range and enhances field increase in the RF range. It can not explain the enormous price differences. It could be shown that positive reports can be explained by result picking and exceptional arrangements of selected field sources. Overall, the investigation showed that manufacturer's claims about the shielding effectiveness are misleading and fool the customers about the real situation. Therefore, acquisition and use of electromagnetic shielding mats must be strongly discouraged.
Leitgeb
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Institute of Clinical Engineering with European Notified Body of Medical Devices, Graz University of Technology, Inffeldgasse 18, A-8010 Graz, Austria. norbert.leitgeb@tugraz.at
Cech
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D004560:Electricity; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*