Electromagnetics ELC311- L51

Fall 2020

Electromagnetics Course Project

Instructor: Prof. Nizar Zorba

TA: Eng. Amith Khandakar

Student Name 1: Maryam Al-Heidous

Student ID: 201601020

 1. Introduction
A new virus attacks our life, Chinese virus which is called Coronavirus or COVID-19 one of
SARS virus family at the end of 19th year. Around 55,000,000 corona virus cases and 1,400,000
corona virus death in all the world until I write this search. Coronaviruses are a large group of
viruses that the animals are its source. It is what scientists call zoonotic, it means that the virus
can be transferred from animals to humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Corona disease or (COVID-19) is spread mainly from one person to another with
close contact between them, usually within one meter according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC says a corona spreading process will be widely
increased when healthy person be nearing with an infected person. The spreading will be
satisfied when he sneezes, coughs, or talks with anyone according to its infected respiratory
droplets and the received person usually will be infected and may be transmit to others.

2. EM Propagation
The physical phenomenon consisting of a mixture of local disruption in the electrical and
magnetic fields is the electromagnetic wave. It can be characterized as electromagnetic waves of
varying sizes and long radio waves. According to the equation, frequency is inversely
proportional to wavelength:

V = f λ, Where the wave velocity is v

Different names apply to electromagnetic waves of different frequencies, as they have

different origins and effects on matter. They are: electromagnetic waves, microwaves, infrared
radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays, in order to increase
frequency and decrease wavelength.

one of this wave's property is its ability to spread. Depending on the medium in which it
propagates, the wave will propagate outward in all directions. The wave will spread outward in
all directions in the air, for example.

They travel in a vacuum at the speed of light, which is 3 × 108 m/s. The speed of
propagation is however, slower in other media densities. This density change induces the wave to
refract. It is possible to measure the index of refraction by n = c0 / c where c0 is the speed of
light and c is the speed of some medium. The index of refraction in the media can be seen in the
table below.

substance index of refraction

vacuum 1
air 1.0003
water 1.33
glass 1.55
Table 1: index of refraction

one of this wave's property is its ability to spread. Depending on the medium in which it
propagates, the wave will propagate outward in all directions. The wave will spread outward in
all directions in the air, for example.

3. EM Body Penetration
Penetration depth is a measure of how a deep light or other electromagnetic radiation can
substance penetrate. It can be described as the depth at which the radiation intensity on the
surface falls to 1/e (about 37 percent) of its original value within the material.

If electromagnetic radiation occurs on a material's surface, it may be partially reflected

from the surface and an energy-containing field may be transmitted into the material. This
electromagnetic field communicates within the material with the atoms and electrons. The
electromagnetic field could travel very far into the material or can die out very quickly
depending on the nature of the material.

Beer-Lambert law

The amplitude of an electromagnetic wave within a substance decreases exponentially

from the surface as it falls, according to this law.

𝐼(𝑍) = 𝐼0 𝑒 −𝛼𝑧

The depth at which the field's strength or power decays to 1/e of its surface value.

1
𝛿𝑝 =
𝛼
 in the case of electromagnetic waves, one focuses on the field quantities themselves: the
electric and magnetic fields. Since the power of a wave in a given medium is proportional to the
square of the quantity of a field, one may speak of a depth of penetration at which the magnitude
of the electric or magnetic field has decayed to 1/e of its surface value and the power of the wave
has thus decreased to 1/e^{2} or around 13% of its surface value:

1 2
𝛿𝑒 = = = 2𝛿𝑝
𝛼/2 𝛼

Attenuation constant

At the normal occurrence of a material, the attenuation constant for an electromagnetic

wave is also proportional to the imaginary component of the refractive index n of the material.
The following relationship holds, using the above definition of alpha (based on intensity):

𝛼 1 1 𝜔 2𝜋
= = = 𝑙𝑚(𝑛̅(𝜔)) = 𝑙𝑚(𝑛̅(𝜔))
2 𝛿𝑒 2𝛿𝑝 𝑐 𝜆

Mathematical definitions of opacity will convey relations between these and other ways
of specifying the decay of an electromagnetic field.

4. EM Effect on Body Temperature

Electromagnetic radiation produced by the thermal motion of particles in matter is
thermal radiation. Thermal radiation is produced by all matter which has a temperature greater
than absolute zero. Particle motion results in electromagnetic radiation causing charge-
acceleration or dipole oscillation.

If a radiation object in thermodynamic equilibrium follows the physical characteristics of

a black body, the radiation is called blackbody radiation. The spectral black body emissive power
distribution or Planck's Law, which can be emitted by a black body at any one wavelength, is
defined as:

2𝜋ℎ𝑐 2
𝐸𝑏𝜆 =
106 𝜆5 (exp (ℎ𝑐/𝜆𝐾𝑇) − 1)
A sequence of curves, known as Planck's curves, produces the spectral emissive force for a black
body against wavelength for a range of temperatures.

Figure1: Planck's curve

The curve shows how the peak wavelength and total radiated quantity differ with
temperature, according to Wien's displacement law.

5. COVID-19 Spread Process

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a newly discovered coronavirus, an infectious
disease. Most people infected with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory
disease and will recover without special treatment being needed. Older people are more likely to
develop serious diseases, as are those with underlying medical conditions such as cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer. According to w.h.o (world health
organization) understanding of this case, when an infected person coughs or sneezes, the virus is
mainly transmitted by touch and respiratory droplets. Airborne transmission can occur under
certain circumstances. Corona virus contain particles, if will be on your eyes, mouth or nose and
then if you breath close to these particles you, it will transfer into your lungs, you could become
infected person. CDC decide that one person can be transmit the virus to other people even
though he does not have any symptoms of the corona diseases.
You may be infected and get corona if particles get on your hands if you touch surfaces with
contaminated particles or touch hands with someone who was infected and whose hands are
contain the virus, and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose.

6. EM Effect on the Spread Process and Scientific Evidence

The false idea that supposed about the role of electromagnetic radiation or mobile 5G networks
in spreading process of SARS-COV-19 are not helpful and dangerous. People are trying to make
sense of an infectious disease pandemic but unfortunately, we see a huge Mobile phone mast
fires are being investigated because conspiracy theories claiming a link between 5G and
coronavirus.

Early in UK, governmental media Mr. Gove said conspiracy theories linking 5G with Covid-19
were "just nonsense, dangerous nonsense as well". Director called Stephen told the press
conference that destroying 5G infrastructure is important to both the general population who are
being asked to stay at home and to the healthcare response to the virus. “Every pandemic of the
last 150 years, before spreading there was a leap in what called the electrification of the Earth.”
The source of the thesis statement of a YouTube video with the title “Dr. Thomas Cowan,
Discusses the Coronavirus.” The video was 10-minute features a man lecturing in front of a
whiteboard. The video looks like any other low-budget video, but that thesis that corona is
linked to the “electrification” of the Earth got certain people make sense. The video, which was
posted March 18, was been watched more and it was dangerous result of conspiracy theory: New
5G technology mobile networks are causing the spread of COVID-19 to the world. Some people
suggest that 5G suppresses the immune system, the other claims the virus is somehow using the
network's radio waves to communicate and pick infected people, then accelerate the spread of
virus. While 5G uses different radio frequencies of the frequency early used in communications
but still not harmful radiations, it's important to recognize that the waveband involved is still
"non-ionizing", so that means that its energy is not enough energy to break chemical bonds in the
DNA of humans in cells to cause damage There is a weakness in the evidence in these theories.
Coronavirus is spreading in UK cities where 5G has yet to be deployed, and in countries like
Japan, Iran and also Middle East that have yet to initiate this technology. Another people who is
believing in the conspiracy theories say that the symptoms of coronavirus are a result of
electromagnetic radiation from the 5G technology, another say that the virus is a natural
infection made by 5G, another say that the entire pandemic is a political trick created then spread
to make people fear from the installation of the 5G network. The International Commission on
Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) decide that the radiation output of mobile towers is
not linked to corona virus spread process, and there is no scientific evidence accept these
theories. World Health Organization (WHO) and Germany's Federal Office for Radiation
Protection say that there is no research linking exposure to wireless technology with adverse
health effects. Electromagnetic radiations and viruses are entirely different things that do not
interact, virus is biological and the radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. SARS-
COV-19 is transmitted by droplets from the eyes, nose or mouth of an infected person, not via
electromagnetic radiation. The newest generation mentioned of communication cellphone, 5G,
will operate near the highest frequencies of the radio wave spectrum.
The frequencies employed in 5G are higher than those of previous generation, allowing more
information to be transmitted more rapidly. Many other devices are expected to use same
frequency, including robots, drones and cars that send traffic information to one another. People
who deny 5G technology claim the high frequencies will make the new phones and cell towers
harmful, the higher the frequency, the more dangerous it is to human-bean. Scientist decide that
the truth is exactly the opposite. scientists say, the higher the radio frequency, the less it
penetrates human skin, lowering exposure of the body’s internal organs, including the brain.
Dr. Marvin a medical doctor and emeritus professor of radiology and medical physics at the
Temple University School of Medicine say that the 5G emissions should be safer than previous
generations. Health concerns were raised last year when a large federal study showed that 2G
signals could produce brain cancer some animal. But officials discounted a direct link to humans,
saying people received smaller doses. But the benefits of the 5G technology will be very huge
and surprising not only in mobile phone and communication but also in medicine. Wireless high-
speed communication could transform the news industry, sports, shopping, entertainment,
transportation, health care, city management and many levels of government.
The new 5G mobile networks has faster transmission speeds and lower latency. They’ve been the
important technical of commercials from various mobile carriers. The links between 5G mobile
networks and corona are example of how history repeats itself. Almost every new wireless
infrastructure gets linked to pandemic in one form or another. The difference between 5G and
previous generations (4G, 3G) is that the 5G use lower radio frequencies (around 6 gigahertz
range), whereas 5G may uses frequencies in the 30–300 gigahertz range.

Also, in the (30-300) gigahertz range, there’s not enough energy to break chemical bonds or
make electrons free when in contact with human tissue. Thus, this range is referred to as non-
ionizing electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic radio wave band that used for mobile
phone networks is non-ionizing, which means it has not sufficient energy to break apart DNA
and cause cellular damage. Higher up the electromagnetic spectrum, well beyond those
frequencies used by mobile phones, there are clear health risks from extended exposure. Part of
the 5G spectrum permitted under international guidelines falls within the microwave band.
Microwaves generate heat in objects through which they pass. However, at the levels used for
5G (and earlier mobile technologies) the heating effects are not harmful, says Prof Rodney Croft,
an adviser to the (ICNIRP). The maximum radio frequency level that person in the community
could be exposed to from the 5G (or any other signals in general areas) is very small that no
temperature rise has been observed to date. The new generation of 5G mobile devices includes
more applications from a professional background. Examples of the usage areas are industry,
autonomous vehicles, internet of things (IoT), and health-care. The new technology supports
higher bandwidth, very low latencies, and a high number of up to 1 million synchronous users
per km2.

7. Conclusion and Comments from EM Point of View

Another current challenge is the discussion about the effects of electromagnetic radiation on
human health. Nonionizing electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves used in any mobile
phone technology, maybe pose a health hazard if misused. An example would be exceeding the
legal limits of output energy levels during transmission. Due to these hazards, the application of
radio transmissions is heavily regulated, licensed, and monitored by state agencies in every
country. These agencies make sure that all installed transmission devices and the relevant
operations are permitted and follow the legal requirements. The impact of electromagnetic waves
on human was investigated more in the last few years by national and international
organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) concludes, A large number of research
have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential
health risk. WHO decide that up to date, no health effects have been satisfied as being caused by
mobile phone use. The application of the 5G technologies will increase person who sick access
to health services regardless of geographical location and at the same time improving ease of use
and comfort and contribute to increased patient satisfaction, reduced patient risk as well as to
increased health efficiency. 5G applications in health must meet essential communication
requirements such as reliability, availability, and security for fast and high-volume data
transmission. Original features that provide added value for healthcare are network virtualization
functions, network slicing.
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