Faraday Cage

[WISE]

No this is not something the missus and i use for a bit of kinky fun,

I'm moving my sons bed against a brick veneer wall that has an electric meter box on the outside. I have read that;

1. these boxes create considerable fields detrimental to our health
2. the fields can be eliminated with the use of a Faraday cage

I know the physics side but making a suitable one is a different matter, has anyone had any experience with making one of these around a meter box?

[Cliff Rogers]

G'day.

Is the meter box metal?
Is it earthed?

If it's metal & earthed, it's already a reasonable faraday cage.

If it's not earthed, earth it.
If it's not metal, replace it.

To test it, stick ya mobile phone inside & shut the door.
Now go inside & ring ya mobile number....
If it diverts to messagebank or the out of range message straight away,
go back out & turn the phone on & do it again dumby.
Now if it waits a while & then diverts or says it's out of range,
you have a good faraday cage.

If you don't own a mobile phone, borrow one.

If you don't live in a mobile phone area, don't try it, it won't work.

If the mobile rings, don't answer it, 'cos it's just you ringing yourself.

[Robert WA]

G'day.

Is the meter box metal?
Is it earthed?

If it's metal & earthed, it's already a reasonable faraday cage.

If it's not earthed, earth it.
If it's not metal, replace it.

To test it, stick ya mobile phone inside & shut the door.
Now go inside & ring ya mobile number....
If it diverts to messagebank or the out of range message straight away,
go back out & turn the phone on & do it again dumby.
Now if it waits a while & then diverts or says it's out of range,
you have a good faraday cage.

If you don't own a mobile phone, borrow one.

If you don't live in a mobile phone area, don't try it, it won't work.

If the mobile rings, don't answer it, 'cos it's just you ringing yourself.

Now that is a good answer, Cliff.
Worth a green blob, I reckon.

[ozwinner]

Or easier still, make a foil hat for the youngen.


Al

[vsquizz]

Cliff, does this work with CDMA??

I'm not putting my mobile in there, Redbacks in there!!:eek:

[bitingmidge]

Oz... Does that work with CDMA??



Squizz,

Maybe they aren't redbacks...maybe they are irradiated daddy long legs?? :eek: :eek: :eek:


P

[Alastair]

Some 2c worth

Faraday cages work with static electric fields, where the charge migrates to the outside of a conductor. As such you are supposed to be safe from lightning within one. Does it work wth magnetic fields---dunno.

To take Cliff a bit further. the Faraday cage does not have to be continous to work with static, and a wire cage is as effective. This is claimed to extend to the wiring and earthed plumbing in the walls of a house, thus turning the whole house into a FC. If this computes, then the effects should be forced outside?? Dunno again.

BTW, you are going to receive much more EM exposure from a mobile phone anyway, and all the "official " views are that there is no recorded effect on your health.

I an going to duck onside my FC to avoid the barrage which I am no doubt about to cop

Alastair

[bitingmidge]

My mate's uncle had a farm with really big powerlines going through one of his paddocks.

It was a source of constant amusement to us that we could wander down under them and get fluorescent tubes to glow..... May be you could just nail a tube to the inside of the wall and see what happens?

On the other hand, I suspect that the "radiation" eminating from your switchboard, won't make a jot of difference when you think about all the microwave, TV, radio, phone and other signals which are going through you every minute of every day.

Whenever I think of all those Channel 10 programmes going through my scone whether I like it or not I double up the foil on the beanie.

Cheers,

P

[Cliff Rogers]

Faraday cages work with static electric fields, .... Does it work wth magnetic fields---dunno.

Nope, you got that A over H....
A faraday cage is for Magnetic radiation....
The fact that it is conductive is what 'Shields' you from static electric fields.

A faraday cage is meant for Magnet Shielding but will also shield you from
static electric fields from outside the cage.
A 'static electric shield' can also be a simple insulator &
but WON'T protect you from Magnetic fields. Savy?

I know we are splitting hairs here with terminology but it's a bit like the
confusion between the terms, jointer, planer, & thinknesser.

Hope that helps.

[WISE]

I'll give the phone a go.

I know what everyone is saying about the fields we experience everyday, it would be nice to reduce one(if its there) particularly when my son will spend about a third of his early years(2yrs old) exposed to it.

Ozwinner,

don't know about the foil hat, its great until hes older and sterile. Next logical suggestion i suppose is to make him wear foil jocks, a great story to tell his phychologist when he's trying to work out any childhood hangups.

[gemi_babe]

Ok, my meter has no box....

My dad's a sparky and doesn't have a contractor license but has applied to the proper dept to be able to fix one and do other work to my house.

i'm not worried about it as I'm sure my widescreen TV puts off enough bad stuff to cause everyone's cancer cells to jump around like mad in a 50mtr radius.

I know where the lead that earths the house is. It's nowhere near the meter, its on the joining wall and telstra has tapped into that aswell for the lightening thingy they put in.

Should I worry? ha ha ha