Magnetic wood planks can curb inconsiderate mobile phone use
magnetic wood could be a plank in the battle against noisy cellphone users. The material absorbs microwave radio signals, making it impossible to use a mobile phone in any room lined with it. Magnetic wood, so called because it is packed with minute magnetic particles, is the brainchild of Hideo Oka and his colleagues from the Iwate University in Morioka, Japan. While normal wood is transparent to radio waves, Oka's wood panels block them because it contains fine particles of a magnetic material called nickel-zinc ferrite. When an electromagnetic wave hits the ferrite particles, the magnetic part of the wave is absorbed.
The panels would not only prove to be a relief for theatre and restaurant goers who are troubled by cellphone users, but would also provide solution to an emerging problem in Japanese cities, where many homes are being fitted with wireless computing networks. If several networks are set up close together, they can interfere with each other. The panels could divide the house into different areas, allowing several networks to operate close by.
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