Major Application Areas Of Conductive Textiles Can Be Grouped As Follows:

• Smart clothing
• Transport of electrical signals
• Heating
• Protection from electromagnetic interference and electrostatic discharge

Electromagnetic Waves and their Effects

Due to the increasing electromagnetic pollution caused by many factors such as TV and radio channels, mobile phones, studies about protection from electromagnetic waves have gained considerable importance.

Equipments such as mobile phones, radars, radios and some others radiate electromagnetic waves which may be harmful for both human health and sensitive electronic devices. In general, electromagnetic shielding may be defined as the process of restricting the effect of electromagnetic field between two areas.

Electromagnetic waves are formed by the combination of both electrical and magnetic waves and characterized by a frequency and a weave length. Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is known to effect sensitive electronic devices as well as the human health in a negative way. When a high frequency electromagnetic wave enters a human body, it vibrates molecules to give out heat. The network of veins within high risk organs such as the eyes could be weakened because this heat can not be easily dissipated. Moreover, it could increase the possibility of leukemia and other cancers.

Human nervous system can be considered as a huge electronic system with around 25 billion cells. The effect of electromagnetic fields onto the natural circulation of that system may be negative. Some problems in nervous system and blood circulation might occur due to this negative effect.

The electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of materials is essential especially in the applications where the protection of sensitive electronic devices and human health is taken into the consideration.

Figure below illustrates the possible electromagnetic radiation sources surrounding human beings in daily life.