Picking up radio stations through dental fillings

[kellyb]

True or no?

I'm guessing myth, but weirder things have happened, too.

[Ducky]

Origin of the myth, as far as I know. (http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/fillings.htm)

If I recall correctly, the Mythbusters busted this myth.

[De_Bunk]

Yep...It was proven to be untrue a good few years before the Mythbusters totally exposed it as totally, 100% logically impossible and complete BS...

DB

[a_unique_person]

It was on Gilligan's Island, so there might be something to it.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

This has always been a favo(u)rite of mine because I have always thought it was at least conceivable. A diode can demodulate RF to extract an audio frequency signal. See "Crystal Radio" for proof.

A bit of Googling(tm) brought me to https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/archives/1996/05_1996/msg00290.html
that seems to confirm my thinking. The bottom line of the poster there "Possible, but I would like to see it documented somewhere." Me too.

I don't think the MythBusters completely convinced me it was not possible.

[Dancing David]

According to people with schizophrenia, it was possible that there were people listening and talking to them through the gas pipes as well, but given modern times computers are more likely the culprits.

[Starthinker]

Well, it made Laurie play her keyboard off tempo. Isn't that documentation?

[Soapy Sam]

I first heard this in the 1960s when pirate radio stations in Europe- some on ships in the North Sea- were broadcasting AM signals at very high output power. Even if believable then, would it not be pretty improbable in the age of line-of-sight (or close to it) FM and digital stations with much smaller broadcast areas and lower powered transmitters?

[NeilC]

My wife's fillings pick up the radio.

Further more, since the advent of DAB radio she can now pause broadcast and restart it later. Which is handy if the phone rings or something.

[bjb]

Here's a story about an amateur radio operator whos tooth fillings were affected by a radio transmitter:

http://tafkac.org/science/radio_receiving_fillings.html

It seem the signal strength must be very high and the frequency needs to be just right for this to happen. I didn't see the Mythbusters episode in question so I don't know how they determined a tooth filling can't absorb radio frequencies.