An EMF detector, or EMF meter, reads electric and magnetic fields. Until recently, EMF had been a relatively low-key topic of discussion, but two separate cultural phenomenon have brought EMF to the forefront for very different reasons: the trend to have a detector for everything that could be harmful in our environment and paranormal investigation. This article will briefly detail these two distinctly different usages of EMF technology.

EMF detectors use highly-sensitive components to find fluctuations in the amount of electric or magnetic energy in a given area. The amount of measurable EMF has grown consistently over the past decade with the advent of more high-tech devices. This rise in the amount of EMF has produced a spike in the number of people investigating the effects of EMF on humans. Even more recently, EMF detection has also found recent prominence in the field of paranormal investigation, with specialists stating that ghostly activities can be measured through anomalous energy fluctuations.

The prominence of new technologies has led to increasing concern over how they effect the environment around us. Now, along with several fire detectors, governments are asking that new homes come equipped with CO2 detectors as well. EMF is the latest craze in the search to measure and control our surroundings. An example of this is a 152-page study recently released by NIOSH which outlines the presence and occupational health risks associated with EMF output.

Recently, a rash of television programming centered around paranormal investigation has made EMF a household word. Investigators believe that apparitions trying to manifest themselves omit tremendous amounts of electromagnetism which, they say, can be measured through the use of an EMF device. As of yet, there is nothing to substantiate this claim.