To my understanding cell phone frequencies for 5G are non-ionizing radiation (as with 3G and 4G) and are of such short wavelengths that they cannot penetrate the human body beyond a few millimeters. (I’m not implying that skin cells within that shallow depth are all dead or expendable, but at least it means that the brain and internal organs are naturally shielded—unless 5G damage to the skin-traversing blood takes a toll on them. )
Nevertheless, I see peer-reviewed articles like this one in the National Institute of Health database (with seemingly abundant supporting citations) claiming that 5G signals can induce oxidative stress and oxygen radicals in biological tissues:
I’m confused. To my understanding a free radical is a molecule (or independent ion) containing an unpaired electron. I also assume that ionizing radiation is one of the ways in which free radicals can be produced in biological systems. This article appears to have abundant evidence for similar harms from non-ionizing radiation. So I’m trying to get a handle on how the non-ionizing radiation of 5G signals can induce oxidative stress by creating free radicals.
I have no graduate or even undergraduate background in physics so what am I misunderstanding? My apologies if I have misused terminology.