Gandhi, O. P. | Engineering Papers

NASA NTRS1986

Advanced Transceivers for Firefighters

Report presents concept of improved portable radio transceiver for firefighters. Based in part on study of propagation of radio waves in such environments as high-rise buildings, ships, and tunnels. Study takes into account possible health hazard posed by personal tranceivers and needs and wishes expressed by firefighters in interviews. Conceptual radio attaches to clothing to allow hands-free use; voice-actuated with microphone worn at throat. Speaker placed near wearer's shoulder. Flexible antenna placed either horizontally across shoulders, vertically at one shoulder, or on transceiver itself.

Blood, B. D.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Part-body and multibody effects on absorption of radio-frequency electromagnetic energy by animals and by models of man

Fine structure in the whole-body resonant curve for radio-frequency energy deposition in man can be attributed to part-body resonances. As for head resonance, which occurs near 350 MHz in man, the absorptive cross section is nearly three times the physical cross section of the head. The arm has a prominent resonance at 150 MHz. Numerical solutions, antenna theory, and experimental results on animals have shown that whole-body energy deposition may be increased by 50 percent or more because of multiple bodies that are strategically located in the field. Empirical equations for SARs are also presented along with test data for several species of laboratory animals. Barbiturate anesthesia is sufficiently disruptive of thermoregulation that delta Ts of colonic temperature yield energy dose values in several mammals that compare quite favorably with those based on whole-body calorimetry.

Gandhi, O. P.↗