Do wall sockets emit EMF? How harmful is that to humans?

Question

^^topic

Is it ok if a person sleeps right next to a wall socket?

Answer 1

Death by electromotive force is a running joke for Engineers. The only way you would be in danger is if you have circuity that is Life critical, then you would not want to be close to high emitting electromagnetic waves. A wall socket has no way of emitting emf unless you connect the terminals to a passive device like an inductor or so.

Answer 2

Some studies have determined that fields stronger than 2.0 mG (milligauss) are harmful during prolonged exposure (although these findings are independent and currently not confirmed by the FDA, OSHA, etc.). The fact of the matter is that we all probably spend quite a long time in areas with fields greater than this. For example, in proximity of a computer, 3-4 mG fields are common. If you work in an industrial area, with large electrical machinery like welders and such, things get much, much higher, 40-90 mG.

States have set the stiffest limits on EMF exposure; Florida has set a limit of 150 mG, and others are a little higher. Federal rules allow much more, over 1 G or more.

The big thing, though, is that no one really knows how harmful EMF's are.

Answer 3

EMF is electromotive force, or simply, voltage. But, electricity is not going to leak out if there's no path for the current to follow. You need something to conduct current for current to flow. Air does a pretty good job at insulating.

As far as safety goes, unless you have a habit of sticking metal objects in outlets during your sleep, you have nothing to worry about.

And don't worry about radio waves or living next to high voltage lines. They're perfectly harmless. I'd worry much more about getting struck by lightning.