Can Cacti Really Block Radiation? The Answer Is Here

Cacti do not have any radiation-blocking effect. Many people believe that because cacti live in deserts, where the environment is dry and "solar radiation" is intense, cacti have been given a hat that supposedly blocks radiation. In fact, this claim has no scientific basis whatsoever, and only the ignorant take it as true. At the same time, some unscrupulous merchants have hyped it up heavily, making this originally false claim even more deeply rooted in people's minds. Let's see what scientists have to say:

The cactus is a plant of the family Cactaceae and the genus Opuntia. Also known as Xianbazhang, Guanyinzhang, Bawangshu, Longshe and so on, it is mainly distributed in the arid regions of South America, Africa, southern China and Southeast Asia and other tropical and subtropical areas. Cacti like strong light, tolerate heat, drought and poor soil, have tenacious vitality, and require only rough care, making them very suitable for cultivation on household balconies.

Cacti belong to the group of plants that absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen at night, so they are called a nighttime "oxygen bar." However, the trait that cacti like strong light has been exaggerated by people, who have slapped on them the "high hat" of being able to absorb computer radiation. This exaggeration is not entirely without basis. Steven Vogel, a professor in the Department of Biology at Duke University in the United States, described in a 2007 paper: the peak temperature of solar radiation is 5800K, which in the spectrum is the temperature of the yellow light we can see. This is very important for plant photosynthesis. Even so, in deserts where daytime temperatures can reach 46 degrees Celsius or even higher, very few plant species can survive. Yet cacti perform admirably in the desert.

So merchants use this point to claim that cacti can survive in solar radiation of 5800K, and therefore cacti can absorb very strong radiation. Although such a statement is not scientific, in this era when people turn pale at the mention of radiation, consumers are very receptive to it.

Yao Yuncong, a professor in the Department of Horticulture at Beijing University of Agriculture, once told the media that cacti grow in deserts with strong sunlight and can withstand the damage of sunlight and ultraviolet rays. But what sunlight produces is a kind of "radiant energy," which is a different concept from the radiation rays produced by computer screens or other electrical appliances. Radiation rays are a kind of energy wave that travels in a straight line. At present, no substance can make radiation rays turn, and the claim of "absorbing" radiation rays is obviously inaccurate as well. Moreover, no research report has ever demonstrated that cacti are better than other plants at absorbing radiation rays. Therefore, placing a pot of cactus next to a computer to absorb radiation and reduce harm to the body is entirely inferred and has no scientific basis.

If you really want to reduce your computer's radiation exposure for the sake of health, then you can simply appropriately control the time you spend facing the computer and maintain an appropriate distance.