Radio Waves and Dental Fillings

Tonight, our class had a great discussion about science misconceptions. It's hard to think of preconceived misconceptions we have deep in the matrix of our brains, but something that we all must think critically about as teachers. A great way to learn these, is simply to start a conversation. Once we starting sharing our ideas, more and more came to my mind. One popped in on my drive home tonight...

Dental fillings can pick up radio signals.

I have a distant, foggy memory of this from an 80's movie with a Steven Spielberg vibe, but as an audio person and future teacher, I must investigate.

After a quick google search, I found Myth Busters aired an episode in 2003 experimenting this same idea. The results: BUSTED!

From the Myth Buster's Wikipedia website:

The gold and amalgam tooth fillings did not act as an antenna or point-contact transistor when placed in a real human skull. Explanations for the supposed Morse code pickup included a Galvanic cell reaction between two teeth fillings and saliva.

This myth was first claimed by Lucille Ball in an interview on The Dick Cavett Show, with the fillings explanation offered byBuster Keaton.

Here's the story from the woman herself:

Lucy obviously experienced a phenomenon, but not sure where her theatrics interfere with the real story.  Further research required!

I wanted to post the book about common science misconceptions that Dr. Kat recommended (mostly for my own memory bank), but for those reading, here's a reminder:

And a link to Philip Plait's blog:

http://www.badastronomy.com/index.html

Happy misconception hunting!!