Tin foils are being used in kitchens and the food industry to wrap and safely store food items for quite a long time.
Being a metal, people are now using it to block EMF radiations but making tin foil hats, face covers, or blanket-like full-body shields, but the question is “Does tin foil block EMF?”
Some studies have shown that tin foil can block EMF in some cases but it also can increase EMF intensity for some particular cases.
What is tin foil?
A very thin sheet of metals that is usually used to cover food and related products is called a foil. The term tin foil came from the material from which it was manufactured first the “Tin”.
Tin is a metal that is soft, easy to shape, and crystalline silver-white. It can be distinguished from silver by the sound it makes called tin cry, when bent. Tin is represented by the symbol Sn and it has the atomic number 50.
Tin was widely used in the food industry for making food Tin cans and Tin foils. After World War II tin was replaced by much softer and lighter material Aluminum but till today the term tin foil is being used by the public for aluminum foils.
Can Tin Foil block EMF radiations?
Yes, Tin foil is made from metal, and like all metals, it can block EMF radiations.
Tin is metal and like all metal, tin foil and all other products made from the tin can block EMF radiation.
Any material with good electrical conductivity can be used as an effective EMF blocker and tin being a moderate electrical conductor having conductivity similar to that of steel can be used as an effective EMF blocking agent.
Talking about aluminum foil, aluminum electrical conductivity is much more as compared to that of steel, brass, and tin so it is a much better EMF blocker as compared to tin.
So foil made from any metallic material can block EMF radiations.
How does Tin foil block EMF radiation?
The tin foil blocks EMF radiation by developing resistive forces inside it due to its excellent conductivity.
EMF radiation is generated when an electric current passes through a conductor. When these EMF radiations come across an electrical conductor, they try to induce electric current inside the conductor.
Now every metal has a particular resistance against the electrical current, so a part of EMF radiations is consumed in overcoming this resistance while a part of EMF radiations is being blocked by back EMF generated inside the tin foil.
Back EMF is the phenomenon in which a resistive EMF is developed in metal when it is exposed to external EMF radiations. External and resistive EMF tries to cancel the effect of each other and thus block the EMF radiations from spreading.
How good is the tin foil in blocking EMF radiations?
The answer to “How good is tin foil in blocking EMF radiations?” depends on several features of the tin foil being used.
Foil ability to block EMF radiations depends on the foil thickness, material density, and material electrical conductivity.
Tinfoil’s ability to absorb EMF radiation increases with an increase in the wall thickness of the EMF shield. Similarly higher the density of the tin foil used for manufacturing EMF shields higher will be the shield’s ability to block EMF radiations.
Material electrical conductivity is considered when two different metals are compared. The higher the Electrical conductivity the higher will be the material’s ability to block EMF radiations.
For example, aluminum has higher electrical conductivity as compared to tin so for a given foil thickness, aluminum foil’s ability to block EMF radiation is much more as compared to tin foil.
Does tin foil protect from EMF?
No, it does not. Tinfoil cannot protect you from EMF radiation.
Tinfoil is just a 0.2 millimeter (mm) thick sheet of tin or aluminum, which also can stop EMF radiation but blocking them completely or protecting something or someone with tin foil is not possible.
Tinfoil can only stop or block those EMF radiations whose energy or intensity is not strong enough to pass through 0.2 mm thick foil. A good example of this is low-energy radio waves.
A study conducted by MIT students to check the aluminum foil’s ability to block radio waves but cover the antenna with aluminum foil. The result shows that the aluminum foil does block a few frequencies of radio waves but in some cases, it amplifies it further. Means foil works opposite to what it is supposed to do in some cases.
So in this case aluminum foil not only fails to protect or block EMF radiations but also further escalates the process of EMF radiation transmission.
EMF radiations of higher energy like a simple domestic microwave can easily pass through tin foil. Similarly, EMF radiations from all other high energy sources can easily pass through tin foil.
Other than this tin foil can only protect from radio waves when either source or a person is completely covered using tin foil. Covering EMF sources is possible to some extent but covering yourself from tin foil is not.
So completely protecting yourself from EMF radiation using tin foil is not possible
Benefits of tin foil
Tinfoil cannot fully protect you from EMF radiations but it can help block some radio waves. Some advantages of using tin foil for EMF blocking are
- Soft and easy to shape: By nature tin material is very ductile in nature and due to this it can easily be shaped into any shape required.
- Lightweight: Tin is a low density material due to which any gadget of tin will be very light weight and thus easy to carry
- Cost-effective: It is a low cost material due to which it is a very low cost DIY solution for EMF blocking
- Easily availability: It is available at almost every utility store.
How to use tin foil to minimize EMF
There are not any products or gadgets available on the market that use tin foil for EMF blocking but some DIY ideas are there to protect you from EMF radiations.
Cell phone cases
A DIY cell phone case can easily be made using tin foil.
- Take the tin foil from your kitchen or purchase a new role from the market.
- Take a good piece of tin foil and place it on a flat surface.
- Now place your phone in one corner of the tin foil piece
- Cut the foil in a manner that edges foil can wrap the phone up to the screen.
- You can also cut it in a manner that completely covers the screen too.
- Now repeat this process a couple of times to develop a thick case around your phone.
This casing will be thick enough to block away all the radiation coming toward the cell phone or being emitted by the cell phone.
Other than this some other ideas also include tin foil pocket lining where the tin foil is used to make some protective layers inside pant pockets.
Tinfoil pouches or bags lining can be used similarly to having a protective layer of tin foil inside your bags and pouches.
Faraday Cage
Named after its inventor, the Faraday cage works as a mirror and reflects all the EMF away from it thus isolating the person present inside the cage from EMF radiation. Faraday cage made from tin or aluminum around your sleeping bed can protect you from EMF radiations
Tinfoil alternatives
Tin and aluminum as a material can block EMF radiations but their foil is too thin to provide any personal protection against EMF radiations. There are other alternatives available that can protect from EMF radiation
Sliver fiber
Silver has a higher electrical conductivity than tin and aluminum that makes him better at blocking EMF radiation as compared to tin foil.
The fact that it’s available in form of fiber which can be used to completely cover you, sliver fiber is the best tool for personal protection against EMF radiations
Copper
In terms of electrical conductivity Copper is second only to silver due to which it is considered as one of the best materials to make tools and gadgets like cell phone enclosures and laptop tabletops to block EMF radiations.
Conclusion
Tinfoil either made from tin or aluminum is considered to be a good EMF radiation blocker. This is just because tin and aluminum are metals and all metals are good at blocking EMF radiations.
Studies have shown that material density and electrical conductivity are major factors in their ability to block EMF radiations. Along with this wall thickness of gadgets made from metals plays an important role in blocking EMF radiations.
A study by MIT students shows that tin foil can block a small portion of radio waves but can increase the intensity of radio waves in some cases. Other than this tin foil does not have any influence on high-energy EMF radiations and thus cannot be used as an effective EMF blocking shield.
Matt Soniak, 2012, Tin Foil Hats Make it Easier for the Government to Track Your Thoughts, https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/tin-foil-hats-actually-make-it-easier-for-the-government-to-track-your-thoughts/262998/