Concerns have been raised over the possibility that extremely-low-frequency (ELF) electromagnetic fields are carcinogenic and leukegenic. An examination of the physical interaction of such fields with the body shows that such interactions are too weak to have a significant effect on human biology at the cell level. Because of the high electrical conductivity of tissues, the coupling of external electric fields in air to tissue in the body is such that the effects of the internal fields on cells is smaller than thermal noise. Static magnetic fields smaller than the earth’s field of 50 μT and varying fields weaker than the 4-μT 60-Hz fields that are equivalent in effect to that from walking in the earth’s field, cannot be expected to generate significant biological effects. Moreover, the interactions of such weak fields at the cell level are also small compared to thermal noise. These conclusions would be modified by 60-Hz cell resonances. But such resonances are shown to be incompatible with cell characteristics and the requirement from equipartition that the mean resonance energy must be kT. Hence, any biological effects of weak ELF fields on the cellular level must be found outside of the scope of conventional physics.

• Received 8 June 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.43.1039