Microwaves and cell phones emit microwave radiation. Are there any other devices that emit this radiation?

Question

Microwaves and cell phones emit microwave radiation. Are there any other devices that emit this radiation?

Answer 1

Microwave transmitters that are used for phone service.

Answer 2

From the 1st link, "microwave" refers to frequencies from 300 MHz to 300 GHz. It is important to note that the higher end of this range is 1000 times greater than the lower end. Microwave ovens operate at the high end, about 2.5 GHz. Cell phones operate more towards the low end, about 900 MHz, which is much closer to radio frequencies.

If you are worried that all things "microwave" are going to cook you like the oven you shouldn't (worry, that is).

Besides the difference in frequencies (no one worries about cancer from the radio), the microwave oven is putting out about 1000 watts of power while the cell phone is putting out less than 1 watt.

Besides microwave ovens and cell phones, other devices using the microwave range include:

GPS

WiFi

Cordless home phones

Police Traffic Radar

Military radars (e.g. ships, airplanes and satellites - these ones can put out A LOT of power, and great caution must be taken to keep people away from the antennas because they can and will cook you like a microwave oven if you get really close, like a few feet away.)

You may also be thinking of the claims that cell phones cause cancer. Cancers are caused by "ionizing radiation". Microwave radiation is not ionizing. The types of ionizing radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum are commonly known as x-rays and gamma rays (the greek symbol for gamma looks like a fish pointed nose down; these two types of radiation are shown in comparison to microwaves on the chart in the 2nd link). They are very different from microwaves and only come from x-ray machines or nuclear reactions, including the sun. Luckily most of the sunshine radiation is filtered by the atmosphere, except for UV which can cause sunburns.