With the amount of time I spent with laptops continuously going up, I started to wonder if there are any harmful side effects due to prolonged use of laptops. Today, we can’t really imagine our lives without laptops. From kids who use it for Games/Entertainment to professionals, everyone is hooked on their laptops for a significant time every day.

Do laptops give off radiation? Yes, they do emit radiation. Is radiation from computer harmful? No, Laptops emit Electro magnetic field (EMF) radiation which is low intensity and is considered non harmful to the body.

The Radiation the EMF is not unique to just laptops, in fact all electronic devices from TVs to kitchen appliances such as microwave emit EMF radiation. Let’s look at the radiation in a bit more detail.

Radiations Emitted from the laptop

There are two main radiations emitted from laptops namely the Radio Frequency(RF) and Extremely low frequency(ELF) electromagnetic radiation.

The Radio frequency waves typically ranging between 2.4GHz to 5GHz are emitted by laptop for communication with other devices or the internet. The WIFI connection or the connection to the 4G internet among others are all examples of radio frequency communication. The antenna present within the laptop emits radio waves which however is not considered as due to the low frequency of the waves.

Coming to Extremely low frequency electromagnetic radiation, its the daily run of the mill radiation that is generated in all electronic circuitry. As per the laws of physics, there is an electro magnetic field surrounding any current carrying conductor.

In case of laptops, once the laptops are turned on , the alternating current (AC) which runs through the laptop hardware causes the low frequency electromagnetic filed to be created around the laptop.

So if the laptop is turned on and when you are in close proximity to be the laptop, you will be exposed to EMF radiation. The generated EMF typically has frequency less than 3kHz and is only generated when the laptop is turned on.

Can you get cancer from laptop radiation?

Ever since the 70s when the computers were first introduced, the general public has been skeptical of the side effects that it may cause. After the proliferation of the internet and electronic devices in the late 90s, several researchers have tried to find if there any links between usage of modern day electronics such laptops/phones with fatal diseases like Cancer.

So can you actually get cancer from laptop radiation? No, so far there hasn’t be any substantial evidence from studies to conclude that laptops cause cancer.

Most of the chatter linking cancer and laptops on online forums seems to be around testicular cancer. This theory steams from the fact that laptops like the name suggests are placed on the lap for use by men and the heat generated from the laptop causes issues such as reduction sperm count and testicular cancer. For now at least, testicular cancer remains just a theory on the internet as there is no evidence to support this notion.

How can I protect myself from laptop radiation?

Well, you may think the research done by the scientific community is not accurate enough or science hasn’t advanced enough to see the threats from laptop use. It might be true, let’s not forget that ill effects from cigarettes’ were discovered after decades of use.

There are a variety of products out there that claim to protect you from the EMF radiations. The most popular one of them is laptop radiation shields.

What are laptop radiation shields? They are protective shields/casing that cover the laptop and are made of materials which block or absorb the harmful EMF radiations emitted from the laptop.*

The laptop protective shields in additions to blocking EMF radiations also reduced the heat dissipated from the laptop. The shields are made of conductors like Copper and Silver. Most laptop shields sellers claim that the protective shields absorb 99% of the heat generated from the laptop.

Laptops vs phones on Radiation!

As laptop and phone are both electronic devices, they both emit radiations. The similarities end there as both devices have different usage patterns, different power needs and use cases etc.

So do laptops or phones emit more radiation? Phones definitely emit more radiation when compared to laptops as they deal with higher frequency communications.

The usage patterns are way different and you are likely to use your laptop for 8-12 hours a day especially if you are a working professional vs a mobile phone where the average screen times are way lower. The side effects of heat dissipated from laptop if any also could impact us, where as phones have no such problems.

It would be remiss if I don’t callout that the scientific community as not found any ill effects from phones either. This is true for all the household and general electronic devices together.

Final Thoughts!

Laptops like any other electronic equipment emits some form of low frequency radiation. However, there is no evidence to suggest, not for now at least that radiations emitted from laptop are harmful. If you think today’s science is wrong, you can buy radiation protection shields which claim to absorb both radiation and heat. And still laptops are way better than phones purely in terms of radiation emitted.