For our project, we will be examining a possible relationship between the energy used by a cellular phone and the radiation that it emits while in use. To gather our data, we will be using Watts Up Pro and an RF meter to measure the microwave radiation generated by electric currents within the phone. In order to obtain a statistically significant sample, we will be testing roughly ten to fifteen phones of different models. This will also allow us to see if a phone’s make and model are related to the amount of radiation it emits. The testing will take place in the Retreat on Tuesday, November 15, at 3 pm. This data will be gathered as a group, and we will then split up the remaining work amongst ourselves. For example, I will be responsible to creating the chart and graph to display our findings, while Ali will handle a visual graphic comparing types of phones, and Sam will present our results and conclusions. Our expected outcome is that the more energy that a phone uses, the more radiation it will emit.

Our group conducted research to determine if there is any correlation between how much energy a cell phone uses and how much radiation it emits. We recorded the energy used by measuring the amount of power necessary to run the phone while it made a one minute phone call. The power ran from the wall through the Watts Up Pro to the phone charger, and finally to the phone. This gave us the number of watts used, displayed in the table below. We measured the radiation emitted using the RF meter, which gave us radiation in volts per meter.

Our data shows that phones that use fewer watts do, in fact, emit less radiation. The graph displays that there is some correlation. However, to identify this trend conclusively more research is required.  The data suggests that smart phones use, on average, more energy than phones without those capabilities, known as feature phones. Six of the top seven power-using phones we tested were smart phones, while the majority of the remainder were feature phones. While the smart phones may use more power, they don’t appear to emit more radiation. It is possible that phone makers work harder to reduce the amount of radiation emitted by their more expensive models. A potential source of error in our experiment could be that we tested phones of different service providers.  Phones with bad service in the area we tested them (the Retreat) probably had to work harder (and use more energy) to get service during the call. To find a true correlation, if there is one at all, we would need to take more data and take phone providers into account. Our data suggests that there may be a correlation, which certainly warrants more investigation.

Here is the data our group gathered for 14 phones. We plugged each phone into its charger and then into the Watts Up Pro to measure the rate of energy used while it made a one minute long phone call. We simultaneously measured its maximum radiation in volts/meter using the RF meter. We took down the phone type and whether or not it is considered a smart phone. Our results follow:

For our project, we will be examining a possible relationship between the energy used by a cellular phone and the radiation that it emits while in use. To gather our data, we will be using Watts Up Pro and an RF meter to measure the microwave radiation generated by electric currents within the phone. In order to obtain a statistically significant sample, we will be testing roughly ten to fifteen phones of different models. This will also allow us to see if a phone’s make and model are related to the amount of radiation it emits. The testing will take place in the Retreat on Tuesday, November 15, and Wednesday, November 16, at 3 pm. This data will be gathered as a group, and we will then split up the remaining work amongst ourselves. For example, I will be responsible to creating the music and lyrics for the creative aspect of the project, while Ali will handle the graphics and Sam will present our results and conclusions. Our expected outcome is that the more energy that a phone uses, the more radiation it will emit.

In our research project we will compare the amount of radiation emitted by a cell phone relative to the energy input of the device.  To measure the microwave radiation emitted by the device we will use a RF sensor. To find the energy input of each device we will use a Watts Up Pro plugged into a fully charged cellular device. We will then observe how many watts of energy each devices uses while performing a standardized function, in this case, a one minute phone call.  We expect to find that cellular phones with a higher energy input will emit more microwave radiation.