Electric field induced in a spherical cell in the human body when exposed to a 50- To 60-Hz electromagnetic field

Abstract

A 50- to 60-Hz electromagnetic field Eincz, Bincy incident on a human body induces in it, respectively, an axial current I3z(z) with associated electric field E3z(z) and a circulating current I3θ(y, z) with associated electric field E3θ(y, z). Some experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies suggest that these may be hazardous at the cellular level. The induced currents flow primarily in the conducting saline fluid that makes up most of the body. Individual cells embedded in this medium are enclosed in a thin membrane that has very low conductivity. In this study, the electric fields and currents in a spherical cell and its membrane are determined rigorously in terms of the electric field induced in the body. This, in turn, is quantitatively related to the incident electric field in the air outside the body. The electric fields and currents induced by the magnetic field are not determined since they are negligibly small.