Your phone can now detect if you’ve been exposed to radiation

Apparently materials within your mobile phone can actually be used to analyse radiation levels up to six years after exposure

phone radiation
(Image credit: REX/Shutterstock)

Apparently materials within your mobile phone can actually be used to analyse radiation levels up to six years after exposure

With talk of 'dark tourism' on the rise, there's an increasing risk of people's exposure to radiation - and in turn risk of cancer.

These aren't your average holiday destinations but rather, people seeking to learn about culture within dangerous travel locations which have been affected by radiation (think near Fukishima or Chernobyl.)

And the most terrifying thing about radiation is that you can't feel it, taste it or smell it to know you're being exposed. And, with consumers already concerned about how they can decrease their phone radiation by 70%, news that there's an easy way to detect it is obviously trending.

Research from the University of Lund, Sweden, shows that our mobile phones can be used to reveal whether or not you’ve been exposed to radiation.

Working with X-Ray protection manufacturer Rothband, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority is set to implement this practice to use the aluminium oxide resistors contained in our phones to analyse traces of radiation.

However, with 70% of people saying they definitely would not take a holiday somewhere that had been affected by radiation,

Managing Director at Lupine Travel, Dylan Harris, reports that his UK tour company sends around 300 people a year (50% aged between 20-35) to Chernobyl which is lower than it was before the Ukrainian civil war broke in 2014. His view? This technology will allow us to actually know the risk of visiting some great historic locations.

Tempted by the new iPhone 9? Find out all you need to know here.

Delphine Chui