Electrical and electronic objects are highly widespread, both at home and in the workplace. The growing use of such devices has a significant impact on electromagnetic interference, a phenomenon that raises the important issue of data and people protection. Before we can understand the process of shielding from electromagnetic waves, it is worth spending a few moments understanding the parties affected by this phenomenon.
Electromagnetic interference can be natural (e.g. lightning) or artificial (e.g. printed circuit boards, industrial systems, etc.).
Such sources of disturbance generate electromagnetic fields that join forces with nearby devices to cause malfunctions.
People are also exposed to electromagnetic fields, and although there are still no scientific studies on the effects of this on health, regulations have been set in place to impose limits on our exposure to such fields.
Engineering in a nutshell
Electrical engineering is the branch of learning that deals with shielding objects and people from electromagnetic waves, an area that is garnering more and more interest. In studying the emission of electromagnetic waves, the focus is on the effects and problems that such waves cause, and on how and to what extent objects can be immune to propagation. This leads to the need to study electromagnetic shielding, in other words the possibility of creating a kind of barrier capable of reducing the emissions of a source. This shielding protects outgoing data and is necessary in many contexts, some unimaginable. For example, shielding is required in the nautical sector, aboard ships that transmit and receive sensitive data, and in particular sectors such as aeronautics and aerospace, marked not only by extremely high levels of privacy, but also by significant complexity due to the nature of the information transmitted, which must never be jeopardised in any way.
Have you ever heard of a Faraday cage?
In simple terms, the practice of shielding from electromagnetic waves involves the creation of a simple shielding system known as a Faraday cage.
Electromagnetic shielding sets out to reduce electromagnetic fields in a precise location by blocking them with barriers made of conductive or magnetic materials. Of course, different situations require different applications, and in environments where magnetic fields vary slowly with a frequency of below 100 kHz, special, more effective magnetic materials should be used in place of the Faraday cage.
At Isoclima, electromagnetic wave shielding is guaranteed by Emigard®, an ideal multilayer product that protects data and people against electromagnetic waves.