Magnetic Field Reduction

First thing first, have the levels of electro-magnetic force (EMR) tested and quantified then decide on an acceptable level of EMR. Now that you know how much you want to reduce the level we can put out collective heads together and work out a solution.

I suspect the level of EMR is less than the earth's magnetic field.
By the way, do you have a magnetic underlay on your bed?

 

Hi Ellie,

The battery wires are right next to each other already. They run down the driver's side of the car, underneath the (on the outside of) steel floor. The steel will attenuate the feilds from them as well.

The only place where the fields are up to a fraction of the magnetic field of the earth is in the rear seat. Check out : The new 2004 Toyota Prius .

 

I recommend not riding on the inside of MG1 or MG2. Other than that, you aren't going to have much trouble with magnetic fields in the Prius, unless you are talking about high frequency electro-magnetic fields (RF). The Prius is a bit noisier in RF than some cars, due to all of the electronics and power inverters. That's not a health issue either, but can cause trouble for radio installations.

Tom

 

Recommend? I thought it was a requirement. Our dealer gave us five of them; one for each possible occupant. We paid a slight up-charge to get the heavier foil.

Tom

 

Ellie: No flame intended, but the Prius EMF scare is a hoax invented by people who have an irrational hatred of everything Japanese. There is controversy whether high-strength EMF will affect living things or not: Mostly new-age types, who fear technology in general, and want everything to be "natural," believe it does. Mostly, people who worship technology as the Answer To Everything (tm) believe it does not. However, in the case of the Prius, any EMF is so small as to be insignificant.

So enjoy your Prius and don't worry about EMF. If you do believe that EMF is a concern to people and other living things, then move away from any city and away from any TV, FM radio, or microwave transmitting towers, away from cell phones and CB radios, because all those are where you are getting your major doses of EMF.

Again, this is not intended as a flame against you. Just pointing out that the Prius is not a significant source of EMF. There are risks involved in driving, but this is not one of them. (The other drivers on the road are your real risks.)

 

I would have thought that every car - Prius included - actually shielded you from EMF. What with that sneaky 'ole Faraday Cage Effect

 

I'd recommend reversing the polarity of the flux capacitor.

 

Google for "field weakening", and have your math textbooks handy.
That's the only place where anyone need be concerned, and you'd
have to really work to get anywhere near where it happens.
.
_H*

 

<no post, just the sound of qbee42 pounding his head against the desk...>

 

I think the point in the responses is not that it's not a concern for most people, but that it's not a concern for anyone, even people concerned about electromagnetic radiation. There are all kinds of other, more powerful sources of radiation in your life, so if you worry about that sort of thing, start with the major contributors.

 

Would that happen to be one of the $138,000 models we have at work that is used for signals characterization? I have to warn you, they're tricky to calibrate and use, but the Geek Factor rates a solid 9 out of 10.

http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5989-6807EN.pdf

If it's one of those meters that cost *far* less than $138,000, your results may not be quite as accurate or even reproducible

Just curious, do you have electric wiring in your home? Do you use a Blackberry or cellular telephone? You're obviously using a computer, CRT or LCD?

As far as automobiles, keep that pesky Faraday Cage Effect in mind

 

I feel your pain, brother. Here, have a good stiff drink

Gluk gluk gluk gluk gluk gluk <clink!>

 

Just make sure you know what your "EMF" meter is going to measure, how to use it, and what is acceptable. You can cause yourself unnecessary stress by misusing one.

For example, if you're worried about the low-frequency/switched-DC of the motors/batteries then Jayman's fancy RF meter won't do you any good. Likewise, a cheap DC magnetic field meter might get thrown off by the RF from the smart key system, or the movement of the car (do you have a dyno to put it up on?). If you get a uni-directional meter, then be sure to take 3 orthogonal measurements, or else simply moving the orientation of the meter with respect to the geomagnetic field might change your reading.

Seriously though, if you're worried about that sort of thing, then save yourself some stress and just turn off the smart key system and your cell phone and relax. You can stress yourself out by worrying about it, and then worrying about how to measure it, and then what your measurement means... I liken it to picking up a Geiger counter and taking it home, cranking it up to the highest sensitivity and listening to it go tick, tick tickatickaticka tick... and then freaking out because there's "Radiation! in! my! home!!" When that might represent a perfectly normal amount of background.

Oh, and don't forget the source of ELF fields common to all cars:

Magnetic fields from steel-belted radial tires: im...[Bioelectromagnetics. 1999] - PubMed Result
Low frequency magnetic fields induced by car tire ...[Health Phys. 2006] - PubMed Result

 

I'm trying to increase my "exposure" to such long wavelength, utterly harmless EMF as much as possible, since it makes my limited time on this planet more efficient.

Also when I pace back and forth, I try to do it in an East-West direction instead of North-South to make sure I cross Earth's magnetic field lines and generate more EMF exposure that way.

I do limit my exposure to EMF in the 200 nm to 1400 nm wavelength range by wearing sunglasses, hats, and sunblock when appropriate.

Both myself and my government's regulations tries to make sure that my exposure to EMF wavelengths less than 10 nm is extremely limited.

In any case, far and away, by many orders of magnitude, the greatest risk your Prius presents to you is simply driving it and the associated chances of a fatal accident. If you want to reduce your risk from your Prius, avoid driving! (But feel free to sit in it in your driveway while it's turned on with all those electrons flowing around.)

 

All I've got to say is that if you think the dangers from EMFs are bad, the dangers from dihydrogen monoxide will freak you out!

 

I sleep in a bed which is against a wall, the other side of that wall is a power meter and on each side of the bed is a power point, plugged into the powerpoints are clocks, electric blankets and lamps. All the time there is 240 volts in these wires. I spend up to 8 hours a day in this environment and maybe 2 hours a day in my Prius.