When it comes to electromagnetic field (EMF) blocking and protection, silver and silver-based products are considered to be the best.
Studies have confirmed that EMF radiation is not good for our health by any means and awareness campaigns about EMF have been on a rise for the past few years.
With this, questions like “Does silver really block EMF?” and if yes “how and how much EMF radiation can it block?” might come into your mind.
This article is about finding the mechanism, effectiveness, and efficiency of silver in blocking EMF radiations.
What is Silver?
Silver is a metallic material and it’s a relatively soft, white, and lustrous metal. It’s a natural material and can be on the earth’s crust. It’s considered precious because its quantity in the earth’s crust is much less as compared to iron, aluminum, and other metals.
Silver is known for its very high thermal and electrical conductivity but is mostly used in jewelry due to its cost and white lustrous surface.
Since its commercialization silver has been used in making jewelry, silverware, medicine, and electronic equipment, as a chemical catalyst, and most recently it’s been used for blocking EMF radiation.
What is EMF blocking?
Barriers made of magnetic and conductive materials are used to reduce or block the EMF.
The shielding is normally applied to isolate the electrical devices and wires from those who have electromagnetic hypersensitivity. These shieldings help us to reduce electromagnetic interference.
Does Silver Block EMF
Yes, Silver does block EMF.
Silver is metal and an excellent electrical conductor. Based on its good conductive properties it can block EMF by producing a resistive force against EMF radiation.
Any material with good conduction properties can be utilized as an EMF-blocking material. Almost all effective EMF shielding products contain silver in them.
How does Silver Block EMF?
EMF radiation is generated when current passes through a conductor. When electromagnetic radiation comes close to silver, it induces electric current and magnetic fields in silver.
With natural material properties, silver being a conductor resists this induction of current and magnetic field. That resistance deflects or reduces the effect of EMF radiation.
Silver being an excellent electrical conductor can effectively deflect or block electromagnetic forces. Its higher conductivity enables him to respond faster and much better than other materials.
How good is silver in blocking EMF?
All metals that conduct electricity can be used to develop an EMF shielding product. The higher the conductivity of the material, the higher will be its ability to block the EMF.
Silver is a superior electrical conductor compared to other metals like copper, steel, aluminum, and even gold. Silver has the highest thermal conductivity and reflectance rate among all the other metals [1].
The density of silver is much higher than steel, iron, aluminum, copper, and even titanium. So it can have more material in smaller spaces. This means for a given space silver will have more material to resist EMF radiation as compared to other materials [2].
Blocking the EMF entirely is impossible, but material like a silver that has high conductivity is the most effective and efficient EMF blocker.
Does Sterling Silver protect from EMF?
Sterling silver is an alloy of silver made by adding 7.5% copper by weight. This is done to make the silver ductile and strong enough so it does not fracture when molded into different shapes.
Sterling silver is 92.5 % silver by weight and it has all the properties of pure silver. So yes, sterling silver does protect you from EMF radiation in the same manner and efficiency that pure silver does.
Does Silver fabric protect from EMF?
Thread-like silver wires coated with nylon were used to develop a fabric for different industrial applications. One of the applications was in the domestic microwave where this silver fabric blocks about 95 % of microwave radiation.
Nowadays these silver fabrics are used in different industries for personal protection. Especially in those industries where workers are exposed to high-voltage applications or devices.
Silver fabric can block a wide range of EMF radiations including; radio waves, Wi-Fi signals, Bluetooth signals, and other cell phone-related EMFs [2].
Different Silver Tools to block EMF
EMF blocking and shielding products of silver come in different forms. They are according to the customer’s needs and the environment in which shielding is required. Some silver tools for EMF protection are:
- Washable and foldable 100% silver fabric which can be used as a cage
- EMF-blocking blankets made of silver
- Caps
- EMF-blocking canopies made of silver
- EMF protection long underpants
- Silver fiber mesh can be used for the safety of credit or debit cards in the wallet
- EMF protection mobile pouches
Oven racks made of stainless steel and covered with silver mesh to block the electromagnetic radiation from the microwave oven to enter to environment
Disadvantages of using Silver for EMF blocking
Silver has every advantage to being used as an EMF shield but it still has its disadvantages of its own. One is the cost of the silver, being precious metal silver is often associated with gold.
The cost of silver is much higher as compared to all other regularly used metals and one that can be used for EMF blocking.
Another disadvantage of silver is its advantage and is its density. A highly dense (denser than steel) weight of silver for a given volume of metal is much more as compared to steel and even greater when compared to aluminum.
A product made from silver will be heavier than the same size product of steel or aluminum.
Can All Metal Block Electromagnetic Radiation
Although blocking EMF entirely is not possible, radiation exposure can decrease. Almost all the metals on the periodic table can be used to deflect or reduce the effect of electromagnetic waves.
EMF shielding materials include different metals such as silver, copper, brass, gold, steel, nickel, and tin, and clothing made from fabric and some special types of paints [3].
Other Metals that can Block EMF
Copper
Copper is an effective EMF shielding material that can block EMFs of almost all wavelengths up to 95%. Unlike other metals, the thickness of copper mesh has no impact on its efficiency in blocking EMFs.
Make sure that holes in the mesh should be smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves. Copper mesh is placed between the sources of EMF and the environment which requires protection from the EMF [4].
Aluminum
Aluminum on the other hand is also very effective in blocking radiofrequency waves (a type of electromagnetic wave). A barrier known as Faraday’s cage is developed to keep the environment safe from RF waves.
The thickness of the Aluminum foil does not matter and the best thing about using aluminum is that it is very cheap.
Gold
Gold is a highly conductive material so it can be used to deflect or nullify EMF exposure but due to its cost, its usage as an EMF shielding material is almost nonexistent.
Steel
Steel has lower conductivity compared to aluminum, silver, and copper therefore its EMF protection properties are not very good. Moreover, Pre-tin plated steel is a perfect low-cost solution that works well between the lower range of frequencies in the kHz through frequencies into the lower GHz range
Other material against EMF
Mylar (a polyester thin film) also known as BoPET offers pretty good protection against EMFs when kept between you and the body emitting electromagnetic radiation. Mylar can reduce the intensity of radiation up to 90 percent.
It is very affordable, lightweight, and comes in different attenuations and thicknesses. Mylar blankets are available in different designs and it is considered the most budget-friendly EMF-blocking material available in the market.
Conclusion
In a world full of electronic devices and electrical resources, the existence of electromagnetic radiation is everywhere. EMF radiations are very hazardous to human health so protection against them is very important and indispensable.
Although almost every conducting material can be utilized to block the EMF, a material with good electrical properties works more efficiently. Silver due to its superior electrical properties compared to copper and gold stands above all.
Almost all efficient EMF-blocking products contain silver in them. Silver along with being an effective EMF-blocking agent also serves as an antimicrobial and anti-bacterial.
- Mark Allen Engineering Ltd (2019) Silver nanowires protect against electromagnetic radiation, http://www.theengineer.co.uk/nanowires-electromagnetic-radiation/.
- Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA). “The lightest shielding material in the world: Protection against electromagnetic interference.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 July 2020. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200702113703.html.
- Seale, Wayne (2007). The role of copper, brass, and bronze in architecture and design; ‘‘Metal Architecture,’’ May 2007.
- Radio frequency shielding, Copper in Architecture Design Handbook, Copper Development Association Inc., http://www.copper.org/applications/architecture/arch_dhb/fundamentals/radio_shielding.html