LapShield causing computer to heat up.

[Sand]

Hello,

I recently purchased the Lapshield, a cover for the bottom of the laptop that is supposed to protect against radiation from the computer. I always read about people saying that they have a problem with their laptop getting hot on the bottom, but I never had it happen, until now Since I've been using the Lapshield the bottom of my laptop does get hot.

My question is if this is doing any harm to the computer by allowing or causing this heat to build up under it?

Does anyone else have this cover and does it really protect from radiation or EMF'S?

I have the T42 DXU 2379. It's about two years old now.

Thanks a lot,
Sand

[dr. zoidberg]

It makes sense that it gets hotter. From the lapshield website:

"The LapShield effectively blocks the electromagnetic radiation and heat from a laptop computer."

I think its doing it's job of blocking heat but as for EM radiation, the cell phone in your pocket can put out more EM energy than your laptop (even with the wireless radio on) so there's not much to worry about to start with. If you wanted to block EM radiation coming from your laptop, you would have to completely wrap the laptop in this lapshield ...or you could use tinfoil, which would achieve the exact same effect... Even then, the radiadion wouldn't be completely blocked, just weakened.

In short, the LapShield, the way it's meant to be installed, would do very little in terms of blocking EM radiation. However it seems to be a good heat reflector

[Sand]

dr.zoidberg,

There are many independent studies out there on the dangers of EMF's that can be easily found by googling, and the LapShield site seemed to me to be stressing that fact more than the heat factor. In an email they told me,

" A traditional CRT monitor emits radiation mainly from its sides and back. Laptop emits most of its radiation from the keyboard, harddisk, and wireless antennas so most of the radiation goes through its bottom. More importantly, the groin area is exposed at zero distance to the radiation and heat so it is the bottom that requires shielding."

They do mention heat but the radiation problem is what seemed to me to be the major point of concern. I don't think anyone needs to worry about being burned from the heat.

But as I mentioned there are many others with nothing to gain or sell that do think that this is something to be wary of.

I agree about the cell phones as far as also being something to worry about but comparing the laptop to something else that emits more EM's does not make it harmless. They all might emit a small amount but it can add up to a large amount at the end of the day. Radiation is stored in the body.

I wonder if changing the name from 'laptop' to 'notebook' was a subtle form of uncertainty of safety.

Thanks for your reply,
Sand

[dr. zoidberg]

Yes, EM radiation of high power and at certain frequencies (notably microwave frequencies) can be very harmful. However, the radiation put out by a laptop is very tiny. Even the most powerful radiation on a normal laptop (the wireless radio usually) is on the order of milliwatts in the gigahertz range. I am aware of the studies done on the effects of EM radiation however the results are controversial and there is no clear conclusion yet. One study by the HPA of the UK concludes that exposure to low frequency magnetic fields (e.g. from power lines) does not seem to have any adverse effects on adults; on children, it may result in a slight increase in the risk of leukemia with prolonged exposure to levels above 0.4microTesla. According to the World Health Organization a computer (presumably a desktop) generates a field of to 0.5 to 30 microtesla at 3cm. Assuming a laptop generates these fields at those strengths and assuming they are relatively low frequency (i.e. not in the GHz range), that would make them very difficult for the Lapshield to block (unless it is made of exotic and expensive Mu-Metal, which I highly doubt it is). To put things in some perspective, a blowdryer at 3cm puts out a magnetic field of 6 to 200 microTesla! Regarding RF radiation, the HPA study found no evidence for adverse effects on health due to RF, however they acknowledge that more reaserch should be done.

Laptop emits most of its radiation from the keyboard, harddisk, and wireless antennas so most of the radiation goes through its bottom

Why must it go through the bottom??? it can escape through the top just as easily right? Also, in the case of thinkpads anyways, the wireless antenna is in the bezel of the LCD screen so indeed, a lot of radiation would also go through there as well.

comparing the laptop to something else that emits more EM's does not make it harmless.

You are absolutely right, however, I think that the level which it is safe is what should be considered. As an analogy consider chlorine in a swimming pool. It is not 100% harmless but it has no lasting adverse effects. The tricky part is determining what a safe level is.

They all might emit a small amount but it can add up to a large amount at the end of the day. Radiation is stored in the body.

I'm not sure how it can be stored in the body. Perhaps you mean its effects are cumulative? In any case, I think this relates to a mean level of exposure, not on the length of exposure at low levels (did that make sense? )

One final point (sorry, i'm rambling now ), although there is no conclusive evidence about possible effects on health due to low power EM radiation, there IS strong evidence that the heat generated by laptops can lower the sperm count in men... In this respect, the LapShield seems to perform well (to the detriment of the laptop unfortunately)

Personally, I would be more concerned of my junk being fried (unless you are female...) than EM radiation causing some sort of health problem. In the end, it is up to you to decide whether the trouble of using this device is worth it or not

cheers!

EDIT: can you point me to some studies that show adverse effects to EM fields? I would be interested in reading them. Thanks!

[Sand]

I'm really glad when I read what you're saying that there is no worry with this kind of radiation; it is really what I want to believe. It's just when a person doesn't have a clue and reads conflicting opinions that makes it difficult to make a choice and I would rather err on the side of caution.

Some of the material I have read on this are here at www.winstontechnologies.com under Danger of Radiation.

Another is "Radiation and Health" by Dr. Warren Brodey (http://www.computer-clear.com/radiation_and_health.pdf). Dr. Brodey believes the human body is really a complex electronic/vibrational entity. And EMF fields create static in the biological signal system which interfere with biological health and healing. Some people have strong resistence to this type of static and some people are sensitive.

I appreciate you taking the time to explain more about this ; you seem to have a better grasp of what it's all about than I do and so I am inclined to believe what you are saying. Yes, I meant that the effects are cumulative, not just from the laptop but every bit of radiation we are subjected to in our environment.

When you say 'detriment to the laptop' from the heat, are you saying that it does do damage to allow the heat to build up and it would be more harmful for the computer than the emf's are to my health? That would make some sort of decision.

Thanks,
Sand

[dr. zoidberg]

Thanks for the article

by detriment I only meant that it caused it to get hotter. It is unlikely that it will be damaged unless it gets very hot. E.g. a CPU temperature of 80-90 wouldn't be so good. Although the Pentium M processor can take this temperature, it may shorten its life if it runs at that temperature all the time; as well it could cause other components, like the hard drive, to heat up as well. Even in this case, the laptop would probably become obsolete before any permanent damage would occur

Check your temperatures and system stability by running a system benchmark that stresses the CPU and GPU (3Dmark is a good one) and see if you are comfortable with the temperatures.

cheers