Firstenberg covers a wide range of issues in The Invisible Rainbow and let me begin by admitting that I’m not an expert in all of these subjects. For instance, I don’t know much about infectious diseases, such as influenza, and I’m not particularly knowledgeable about viruses in general. However, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention gathers input from authorities on these topics and here is what it says about the causes of the flu.
“Most experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by tiny droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze, or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. Less often, a person might get flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes.”
Firstenberg, on the other hand, claims that the flu is an electrical disease not caused by a virus spread from person to person. He writes
In 1889, power line harmonic radiation began. From that year forward the earth’s magnetic field bore the imprint of power line frequencies and their harmonics. In that year, exactly, the natural magnetic activity of the earth began to be suppressed. This has affected all life on earth. The power line age was ushered in by the 1889 pandemic of influenza.
In 1918, the radio era began. It began with the building of hundreds of powerful radio stations at [low] and [very low] frequencies, the frequencies guaranteed to most alter the magnetosphere. The radio era was ushered in by the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918.
In 1957, the radar era began. It began with the building of hundreds of powerful early warning radar stations that littered the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, hurling millions of watts of microwave energy skyward. Low-frequency components of these waves rode on magnetic field lines to the southern hemisphere, polluting it as well. The radar era was ushered in by the Asian flu pandemic of 1957.
In 1968, the satellite era began. It began with the launch of dozens of satellites whose broadcast power was relatively weak. But since they were already in the magnetosphere, they had as big an effect on it as the small amount of radiation that managed to enter it from sources on the ground. The satellite era was ushered in by the Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1968.
No mechanism is offered to explain how electromagnetic fields might cause a flu pandemic. No distinction is made between power line frequency (60 Hz) and radio frequency (MHz) radiation, although their physical effects are distinct. No estimation of “dose” (the distribution and magnitude of electric and magnetic field exposure) is provided. No randomized, controlled, double-blind studies are cited. He merely lists anecdotal evidence and coincidences.
Perhaps we could just ignore such dubious claims, except that The Invisible Rainbow is often quoted as evidence supporting the assertion that the Covid pandemic is somehow related to 5G cell phone radiation. Why would anyone get a Covid vaccine if they erroneously believe that the disease is caused by electromagnetic radiation? Such misinformation is dangerous to us all.
Firstenberg describes old studies without critical analysis. For instance, on page 73 he writes
In 1923, Vernon Blackman, an agricultural researcher at Imperial College in England, found in field experiments that electric currents averaging less than one milliampere (one thousandth of an ampere) per acre increased the yields of several types of crops by twenty percent. The current passing through each plant, he calculated, was only about 100 picoamperes.
One hundred picoamperes is 10−10 amperes. We aren’t told what the crops were, but let’s assume they consist of a thin stalk that I’ll estimate has a cross-sectional area of one square centimeter (10−4 m2). That means the current density would be 10−6 A/m2. Furthermore, let’s assume an electrical conductivity on the order of saline, 1 S/m. The resulting electric field is 10−6 V/m, or one microvolt per meter. This is far less than the electric field that always surrounds us and is caused by thermal fluctuations. The proposition that one milliamp per acre has such an effect defies credulity.
It was the Schwann cells, Becker concluded—the myelin-containing glial cells—and not the neurons they surrounded, that carried the currents that determined growth and healing. And in a much earlier study Becker had already shown that the DC currents that flow along salamander legs, and presumably along the limbs and bodies of all higher animals, are of semiconducting type.
Firstenberg believes cell phones cause many health hazards. On page 176, he writes
[Allan Frey] discovered the blood-brain barrier effect, an alarming damage to the protective shield that keeps bacteria, viruses, and toxic chemicals out of the brain—damage that occurs at levels of radiation that are much lower than what is emitted by cell phones today.
I could go on. Firstenberg believes electromagnetic fields are responsible for diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. His views on the mechanism of hearing are at odds with what most researchers believe. He thinks the “qi” that supposedly underlies acupuncture is electric in nature (similar to Becker’s view).
I do have some sympathy for Firstenberg. He’s been plagued by a variety of symptoms that he associates with electromagnetic hypersensitivity. I have no doubt his suffering is real. Yet, the evidence from controlled, double-blind experiments does not support his claim that electromagnetic radiation causes his illness. Rubin et al. reviewed many experiments and concluded that “at present, there is no reliable evidence to suggest that people with [idiopathic environmental intolerance attributed to electromagnetic fields] experience
unusual physiological reactions as a result of exposure to [electromagnetic fields]. This supports suggestions that
[electromagnetic fields are] not the main cause of their ill health” (Bioelectromagnetics, Volume 32, Pages 593–609, 2011). The World Health Organizationconcludes
EHS [electromagnetic hypersensitivity] is characterized by a variety of non-specific symptoms that differ from individual to individual. The symptoms are certainly real and can vary widely in their severity. Whatever its cause, EHS can be a disabling problem for the affected individual. EHS has no clear diagnostic criteria and there is no scientific basis to link EHS symptoms to EMF [electromagnetic field] exposure. Further, EHS is not a medical diagnosis, nor is it clear that it represents a single medical problem.
I put Arthur Firstenberg in the same category as Martin Pall, Robert Becker, Paul Brodeur, and Devra Davis: well-meaning scientific mavericks whose hypotheses have not been confirmed. The Invisible Rainbow is an interesting read, but beware: as science it is flawed.
Listen to Arthur Firstenberg, author of The Invisible Rainbow, answer questions about the hidden dangers of wireless and cellular phone radiation (I post this video so you can hear his side of the story, not because I agree with him).
Robert Resnick is professor emeritus at Rensselaer and the former Edward P. Hamilton Distinguished Professor of Science Education, 1974–93. Together with his co-author David Halliday, he revolutionized physics education with their now famous textbook on general physics, still one of the most highly regarded texts in the field today.
He is author or co-author of seven physics textbooks, which appear in 15 editions and more than 47 languages.
Resnick introduced Rensselaer’s interdisciplinary science curriculum in 1973 and was its chair for 15 years. He was awarded the American Association of Physics Teachers’ highest honor, the Oersted Medal, in 1975, and served as its president, 1986–90. A Distinguished Service Citation issued in 1967 by the association said, “Few physicists have had greater or more direct influence on undergraduate physics students than has Robert Resnick.”
Rensselaer named its Robert Resnick Center for Physics Education in his honor.
Today is Edith Anne Stoney’s birthday; she was born on January 6, 1869. In an article that appeared in the December, 2013 issue of Scope (the quarterly magazine of the Institute for Physics and Engineering in Medicine), Francis Duck describes Stoney as “the first woman medical physicist.” This week’s blog post includes excerpts from Duck’s fascinating article.
Stoney began her education in math and physics, then later switched to medicine.
As a young woman, Edith demonstrated
considerable mathematical talent, gaining a scholarship
at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she achieved
a First in the Part I Tripos examination in 1893.
Extraordinarily, she was never awarded her Cambridge
degree: women were excluded from graduation, a
situation that would not change for another 50 years.
She was later awarded [bachelor’s and master’s] degrees from Trinity College Dublin, after they accepted women in 1904.
Career possibilities for university women were limited.
She carried out some difficult calculations on gas turbines and searchlight design for Sir Charles Parsons,
and then took a mathematics teaching post at
Cheltenham Ladies’ College.
The 1876 Medical Act had made it illegal for academic
institutions to prevent access to medical education on
the basis of gender. Anticipating this change in the law,
the London School of Medicine for Women was
established in 1874 as the first medical school for
women in Britain. It soon became part of the University of London, with clinical teaching at the Royal Free Hospital. Edith’s sister Florence studied there,
obtaining her [medical degree] in 1898. By this time, changed
regulations had embedded physics firmly into medical
training, and Edith gained an appointment as a physics
lecturer there in 1899.
She became interested in medical imaging through her sister, the first female radiologist in the United Kingdom.
In 1901, the Royal Free Hospital appointed Florence
into a new part-time position of medical electrician. The
two sisters set about selecting, purchasing and
installing x-ray equipment and, the following April, a
new x-ray service was opened in the electrical department.
Edith and Florence with their father George Johnstone Stoney.
During the next few years Edith actively supported
the women’s suffrage movement, though opposed the
direct violent action with which it was later associated.
The years from 1910–1915 did not go smoothly for her.
After her father’s death in 1911 she no longer had his
guidance to call on. As student numbers increased so
did her staff, but they often did not stay long,
finding her difficult to work with. Finally, in March
1915, she left [her teaching position at the University of London].
Edith was now free from other commitments and
could make her own contribution to the war. She
contacted the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH), an
organisation formed in 1914 to give medical support in
the field of battle, financed by the women’s suffrage
movement. In May she set off to Europe, and would be
away for most of the next 4 years… She established
stereoscopy to localise bullets and shrapnel and
introduced the use of x-rays in the diagnosis of gas gangrene… [The war resulted in] traumatically
injured soldiers and difficult working conditions. It
could have crushed a weaker character…
It was hard physical work for the women
to pack up the whole tented hospital, weighing three or
four hundred tons.
In March 1918, and for the third time, she had to
supervise a camp closure and retreat, when Villers-Cotterets was overrun by the advancing front. During
the final months of the war the fighting intensified and
there was a huge increase in workload. In the month of
June 1918 alone the x-ray workload peaked at over 1,300,
partly resulting from an increased use of fluoroscopy... However, [fluoroscopy] also resulted in an increased
incidence of radiation burns to Edith’s staff, two of
whom had to take sick leave to recover.
After the war ended, her work supporting the troops was honored by government awards, but not with an appropriate job.
Her war service was recognised by the medals that she
was awarded: from France, the Médaille des épidémies
and the Croix de Guerre; from Serbia, the Order of St Sava; and the Victory [Medal] and [the] British War Medal from
Britain. Returning to England and with no pension and
no medical qualification she took a post as lecturer in
physics in the Household and Social Science department
at King’s College for Women, which she held until 1925.
She retired in 1925, but remained active supporting women in science.
After leaving King’s she retired to Bournemouth
where she lived with Florence who was by then
terminally ill with spinal cancer. She supported the
British Federation [of] University Women (BFUW) for
which she had acted as the first treasurer before the war.
She travelled widely, first with her ailing sister, and then
alone after Florence died in 1932.
Stoney passed away just as Europe was hurtling toward another world war.
Edith Stoney died, aged 69 years, on 25th June 1938.
Obituaries were printed in Nature, The Lancet and The
Times…. She was not noted as a
creative scientist: this was not her forte. She was a tough
and single-minded woman with high academic ability.
Her organisational skills established physics laboratories
and courses in two institutes of higher education. She
showed considerable bravery and resourcefulness in the
face of extreme danger, and imagination in contributing
to clinical care under the most difficult conditions of war.
She was a strong advocate of education for women... At a
time when medical physics was still struggling to become
an identified profession, Edith Stoney stands out as one
of its most able pioneers.
Anyone searching for a female role model in medical physics need look no further. What an amazing life.
I am an emeritus professor of physics at Oakland University, and coauthor of the textbook Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology. The purpose of this blog is specifically to support and promote my textbook, and in general to illustrate applications of physics to medicine and biology.
