We all use the remote control in our homes to operate and control various devices. Also, we know that the remote is working based on the IR or RF radiation. At least once, a doubt may be passed through your mind about whether the remote control causes cancer or other health issues.
In this post, we are checking the facts with solid proofs, with the help of science. There are so many misconceptions that the radiation emitted from the remote can penetrate the human body, and cause cancer or other health issues.
All the remote controls are working based on some connectivity technologies like Infrared, radio frequency, Bluetooth, or WiFi. Most commonly, almost all remotes are IR-based.
No, remote control does not cause cancer or any health issues in any manner. Because the remote control is working based on Infrared radiation and is likely not harmful to humans. There are only very negligible IR signals emitted between the remote control and the device. Even if a very large amount of Infrared is emitted, still there is no chance of getting any cancer or health issues.
Since many of us are using TV remotes, and know a TV remote will not cause radiation to your body. Control your TV with full peace of mind. Do not worry!
Radiations used in remote controls
As we know infrared radiation is used on remote controls and to send commands to the device. IR emitter on the remote control is responsible for emitting and sending commands.
Understanding Radiations – Ionizing and Non-ionizing radiation
In order to justify that a remote control did not cause any cancer to human skin or any other parts, we need to understand something deep about the radiation. There are two kinds of radiation. one is ionizing radiation and another one is non-ionizing radiation.
Ionizing radiations:- Radiations emitted by x-rays and ultraviolet rays are called ionizing radiations. They are likely high-frequency radiation and carry a high amount of energy which may cause damage to DNA and other cells in the human body. They are not used in any home devices such as microwaves, remote control, mobile phone signals, etc since they are very harmful to human beings and likely have a high chance of damaging our skin and body cells and causing cancer.
Non-Ionizing Radiations:- Non-Ionizing radiations like infrared radiation, microwaves, etc have very low potency since they are not harmful to human body cells. So they are used in remote controls, cell phone signals, microwaves, wifi modems, etc. They use very less radiation for all these household devices.
The frequency range of IR signals on remote controls
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In the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared radiation has a frequency of 5.8 GHz which is very low-frequency radiation. Less than this frequency range is only emitted from a remote control and is very safe.
Although Infrared radiation lies in the frequency range of 8.5GHZ in the electromagnetic spectrum, remote controls only need the infrared frequency range between 300MHz – 400 MHz for a perfectly working device. Note that 300 – 400 MHz and not GHz. This is commonly used in IR-based remote controls.
This 300-400 MHz frequency range is used but not confused with the modulation range. To emit a command as infrared radiation between the device and a device, only a 30-60 kHz modulation rate is used. So only very negligible radiation is emitted when sending commands on remote controls.
Does Remote control cause any health-related Issues?
No way! From the Infrared signals perspective, you don’t need to worry it will cause some health issues. But we should keep the remote control very hygienic. Because we all use it in our home. If you have a fever or any other viral infections, when you use the remote control, your kid will use it. So, they’ll get ill.
So, when any member of your family has viral fever or illness, sanitize the remote with sanitizer so that we can avoid the spreading of the viruses.
Conclusion
I hope you got the exact answer here since I provided you with technical and scientific aspects of using Infrared radiation on remote controls.
If you have any valuable information regarding this, you can share it with us, and let us spread the knowledge.
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