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Electromagnetic Radiation and Human Environment

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 9966

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Design and Production Engineering, University of West Attica, Petrou Ralli & Thivon 250, GR-122 44 Aigaleo, Greece
Interests: radon; radon progeny; radon in soil; kHz-MHz electromagnetic radiation; fractal analysis; fractal dimension; long memory; Hurst exponent; DFA; symbolic dynamics; R/S analysis; entropy; Tsallis entropy; earthquakes; pre-seismic precursors; ionizing radiation physics; radiation dosimetry; radiation exposure; radiation protection; X-rays
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences aims to gather high-quality original research articles, reviews, and technical notes on the topic of electromagnetic radiation and the human environment.

The human environment has attracted the interest of different scientific disciplines. Radiation in the environment, or, alternatively, environmental radiation, is a topic with several branches, from radon to UV and solar radiation. The human radiation environment, as a term, includes the health effects of all types of radiation. Hence, this Issue focuses on the electromagnetic part of environmental radiation and all of its effects. 

Several types of electromagnetic emissions have been detected in the environment. These include ultra low frequency (ULF) (<10Hz, typically below 1 Hz), extremely low frequency (ELF) (typically alternating current (AC) fields and other electromagnetic and non-ionising radiation from 10 Hz to 300 Hz), low frequency (LF) (between approximately 3 kHz and 300 kHz),  and high frequency (HF) (between 3 MHz and 300 MHz) emissions; microwaves (300 MHz to 300 GHz); infrared (IR); visible and ultraviolet (UV) radiation; X-rays; γ-rays; and, finally, solar flares.

The effects of electromagnetic radiation on the human environment are multifaceted. Non-ionising ELF and microwave emissions are under continuous investigation. Research has focused on radiation from AC power lines, mobile phones, base stations, and digital communications. On the other hand, the effects of ionising radiation have been the subject of many papers and the focus of international organisations. This includes naturally emitted x-rays, γ-rays, and emissions from artificial sources. In particular, γ-rays are emitted from natural radionuclides as radons and from the soil due to the natural radionuclides that it contains (U-238, Th-232, K-40, Ra-226, isotopes, etc.). Artificial sources of x-rays and γ-rays come from the field of medical physics; therefore, they are excluded from this Special Issue.

There is significant research into electromagnetic radiation in relation to humans in the form of the electromagnetic emissions seen prior to earthquakes. Several types of emissions are detected before earthquakes, and these are a potential data source for seismic forecasting. Although this is still an open topic, many papers exist on the known precursors of electromagnetic radiation, including ULF between 0.001 and 1 Hz, LF between 1 and 10 kHz, HF between 40 and 60 MHz, and very high frequencies (VHF) up to 300 MHz. Recently, solar flares have been used for earthquake forecasting and they have been investigated as a possible triggering mechanism. These methodological approaches are related to the stochastic and statistical behaviour of earthquake-related systems and include fractals, long-memory, fractal dimensions, Hurst exponents, entropy, symbolic dynamics, DFA and MFDFA, R/S analyses, spectral analyses, Fourier analyses and wavelets, signal analyses, and signal processing.

Finally, remote sensing techniques have recently played an important role in recording and accessing big data from several sources, including satellites. Techniques like these, which are related to electromagnetic radiation and the human environment, are within the scope of this Special Issue.

I invite you to send me a short abstract briefly explaining the purpose of your research and the principal results obtained, in order to verify that the contribution you intend to submit fits within the objectives of this Special Issue. These objectives are better outlined in the keywords given below.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Nikolopoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • non-ionising radiation (power lines, mobile phones, digital communication systems)
  • ionising radiation (x-rays, γ-rays)
  • naturally emitted γ-radiation in free air from natural radionuclides
  • electromagnetism. electromagnetic precursors (ULF, LF, HF, and solar flares)
  • health effects
  • remote sensing
  • related data analysis algorithms
  • their modelling and simulation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 1203 KiB  
Article
Applying Finite Element Method–Dirichlet Boundary Condition Iteration to the Computation of Coupling Factors for a 3-D Human Model
by Giovanni Aiello, Salvatore Alfonzetti, Santi Agatino Rizzo and Nunzio Salerno
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 842; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15020842 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 473
Abstract
The hybrid FEM-DBCI numerical method is proposed for the computation of coupling factors between time-harmonic magnetic fields and human bodies. Characteristics are highlighted which make FEM-DBCI very suitable to perform such computations. Several coil geometries are considered (circular coils) at low frequency. A [...] Read more.
The hybrid FEM-DBCI numerical method is proposed for the computation of coupling factors between time-harmonic magnetic fields and human bodies. Characteristics are highlighted which make FEM-DBCI very suitable to perform such computations. Several coil geometries are considered (circular coils) at low frequency. A simplified model of the human body is assumed as suggested by IEC standards. Details of the method are highlighted, and numerical results are also provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Radiation and Human Environment)
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10 pages, 6144 KiB  
Communication
The EU Directive on Electromagnetic Fields—Practical Experience of Field Measurements
by Kjell Hansson Mild
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(16), 7064; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14167064 - 12 Aug 2024
Viewed by 805
Abstract
The EU directive on exposure to electromagnetic fields was published in 2004, but due to some problems it was not introduced in the EU countries before 2016. However, still today, many companies are not aware of the legislation and have not taken measures [...] Read more.
The EU directive on exposure to electromagnetic fields was published in 2004, but due to some problems it was not introduced in the EU countries before 2016. However, still today, many companies are not aware of the legislation and have not taken measures to comply. This could perhaps be due to some of the practical problems they are facing in trying to comply. Here, we address some of these problems, such as showing compliance with the action levels for non-sinusoidal extremely low-frequency magnetic fields, time-averaging for the initial start-up current of handheld machines and time-averaging of radiofrequency fields when measuring plastic welding machines, including the uncertainty in the measurements. Finally, we discuss some of the problem concerning workers with special needs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Radiation and Human Environment)
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Review

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26 pages, 782 KiB  
Review
Schumann Resonances and the Human Body: Questions About Interactions, Problems and Prospects
by Ganna Nevoit, Mantas Landauskas, Rollin McCarty, Inga Arune Bumblyte, Maksim Potyazhenko, Giedre Taletaviciene, Gediminas Jarusevicius and Alfonsas Vainoras
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(1), 449; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15010449 - 6 Jan 2025
Viewed by 6124
Abstract
(1) Background: The interaction between the human body and the Earth’s magnetic field at Schumann resonances (SRs) is one of the important fundamental questions of science that continues to be studied. The aim of this study was to create a working theoretical foundation [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The interaction between the human body and the Earth’s magnetic field at Schumann resonances (SRs) is one of the important fundamental questions of science that continues to be studied. The aim of this study was to create a working theoretical foundation for the interaction of the human body with SRs. (2) Methods: Extensive research was carried out in the literature with the aim of comprehensively presenting data on SRs and creating a working concept of their interaction with the human body. (3) Results: General data on SRs, a theoretical basis for justifying their interaction with the human body, possible mechanisms of influence and research results on the functioning of human internal organs were presented. (4) An interaction of the human body with SRs exists and has been scientifically proven. This interaction has been studied most significantly between SRs and the human nervous system. SRs affect functional indicators of the cardiovascular system: heart rate and blood pressure. Studying the influence of SRs on the course and pathogenesis of non-communicable diseases is a promising direction. Low-frequency SRs decrease the risk of developing acute myocardial infarction, and there is a tendency for them to promote cases of chronic kidney disease. SRs are an important external natural factor influencing the human body. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Radiation and Human Environment)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: The depth of penetration of the magnetic field in various materials and applications.
Author: ASCONA GARCIA
Highlights: The penetration depth of the magnetic field poses significant challenges, a systematic review analyzes and quantifies information. A comprehensive literature search showed that the penetration depth varies significantly depending on the material and conditions.It was confirmed that higher frequency is associated with lower penetration depth and the models and calculations performed provide valuable information for future research.

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