6G Wireless Communication Could Be on Its Way Soon
6G signals can now be curved around objects using special technology
6G wireless communication could be coming soon, as one of the major problems associated with the technology appears to have been solved.
Up to now, one of the main obstacles to 6G communication has been the tiny size of the terahertz waves it uses. These are easily disrupted by obstacles like walls, furniture and living creatures.
Now, researchers from Brown and Rice Universities claim to have found a way to bend terahertz waves around obstacles.
In a new study published in the journal Communications Engineering, the researchers demonstrate a new approach to send 6G waves on curved trajectories, maintaining a strong link between the transmitter and receiver.
“This is the world’s first curved data link, a critical milestone in realizing the 6G vision of high data rate and high reliability,” says Edward Knightly, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice.
The issue of the health effects of exposure to non-ionizing radiation (EMF), including 5G, remains a significant source of controversy.
While fact-checkers and mainstream-media outlets alternate between playing down fears about negative health effects, and ridiculing them as being linked to various “right-wing conspiracy theories,” medical experts and scientists continue to warn that there is good reason to believe constant exposure may be linked to a wide variety of harms from reduced sperm counts to cancer and dementia.
In 2017, doctors and scientists launched a petition in the EU to prevent 5G technology from being rolled out. They cited potential cancer risks and also noted that, since the technology was so new, adequate safety testing had not been carried out.
A variety of studies have shown that non-ionizing radiation has the potential to cause gene damage.
As one review study notes, “Many studies reported effects in cells and animals after exposure to EMF at intensities similar to those in the public and occupational environments.”
The study adds that, “The mechanisms by which effects are induced by EMF are basically unknown.”
