LAURA LING: We're driving to Green Bank, West Virginia,

and the radio just went out, I lost cellphone service,

no Wi-Fi.

And that's because we just entered the National Radio

Quiet Zone.

It's been called the quietest place in America.

There are no cellphone towers, Wi-Fi is highly restricted,

microwaves too.

The US National Radio Quiet Zone, a 13,000 square mile area

was established in 1958 to protect telescopes

like these from electromagnetic frequencies

that could cause harmful interference.

We went 450 feet up to the very top

of the world's largest steerable radio telescope

in Green Bank, West Virginia.

In being up here, I feel like a speck on the earth.

JAY LOCKMAN: What it's used for really

makes me feel like a speck on the earth,

because it's used by scientists to study

things that are going on very far out in the universe.

Stars that are being formed, or stars that are dying,

galaxies and their collisions.

People have looked for life using this telescope.

LAURA LING: What makes this particular telescope unique?

JAY LOCKMAN: What makes it unique is, for one thing,

it's location.

It's in the National Radio Quiet Zone,

and so we're free from a lot of the man-made interference that

would really block study of sensitive signals.

The tiniest little transmitter, even

things like cellphones or even the kind of transmitters

that are in your digital camera would wipe out the signals.

Another thing is its sheer size.

It's a very good, very precise tracking instrument,

so a lot of things put together make

it an absolute unique instrument for the study

of a large range of phenomena out there in the universe.

LAURA LING: Do some people feel as if they're

living in a little bubble here?

JAY LOCKMAN: In a sense, I feel like I'm

living in the little wonderland, because we have

this great science going on here,

and I suppose there are people that

can't imagine doing without cellular service,

but for most of human history we managed quite well.

Think of it as living in 1980.

LAURA LING: I love the '80s.

JAY LOCKMAN: Well, the fashion left something to be desired.

LAURA LING: Jonah Bauserman patrols the 10-mile radius

around the National Radio Astronomy Observatory

to make sure there are no electromagnetic frequencies

that might interfere with the telescopes.

JONAH BAUSERMAN: This is actually NRAO property,

you know, the folks that live here sign a rental agreement,

and it basically says you are not

allowed to have microwave ovens, Wi-Fi, cordless telephones.

Anything that could transmit a signal is strictly forbidden.

LAURA LING: So no Lean Cuisines for these guys for dinner?

JONAH BAUSERMAN: Nope Or they have to figure out

another alternative to cook it.

LAURA LING: I mean, it does seem in some ways

that this town is kind of from a different era.

JONAH BAUSERMAN: It is a unique area.

We're kind of locked back in time, if you will.

LAURA LING: The National Radio Quiet Zone is not only

a place of scientific research and discovery,

it's become a haven of sorts for people

who believe they suffer from a condition known

as electromagnetic hypersensitivity,

that electromagnetic fields make them sick.

DIANE SCHOU: I got a headache that

was like a sledgehammer on the head.

JENNIFER WOOD: I started losing weight really fast.

I got emaciated.

The doctors were really frightened.

They thought maybe I had cancer.

MELISSA CHALMERS: I was very nauseous.

I was throwing up all the time.

Every moment of every day was absolute torture.

LAURA LING: Diane Schou, Jennifer Wood,

and Melissa Chalmers are among the few dozen people who

have moved to Green Bank in the last few years

to try to escape the ever-growing reach

of Wi-Fi technology.

What sorts of things were making you sick?

DIANE SCHOU: Well, originally it was just

the cellphone tower that was near my home,

but after that it became cellphones,

and eventually it also morphed into power lines,

electrical devices, fluorescent lights are horrible.

The electricity became so painful

that when the neighbor ran her coffee maker,

I was in such pain, with such a headache

and, oh, that really hurt.

MELISSA CHALMERS: When I was using the phone,

after couple minutes, I would start getting numb

on this side of my face, and so I would turn it off,

but then the last time I used it,

my face went numb for two weeks.

JENNIFER WOOD: A lot of houses I can't even be in,

so this is why I hand-built my own house with no electricity.

LAURA LING: There are some people

who say that what you're suffering

from is not a condition, it's an affliction, it's in your head.

How does that make you feel?

DIANE SCHOU: They're uneducated.

They are closed minded, and they are selfish.

It is real.

It is true.

LAURA LING: How did you feel when

you arrived in this quiet zone?

MELISSA CHALMERS: I felt great, actually.

You know, at one point, my whole body just relaxed.

DIANE SCHOU: By getting away, I was able to recover.

I do have electricity in my home.

I use it carefully.

So therefore, I do have a computer.

I can go to local grocery store, I can go to church.

I can be with people, and they're not carrying

a cell phone in their pocket.

JENNIFER WOOD: As soon as I moved in,

I was completely out of all electrical fields and all cell

phone reception.

Within two weeks, I noticed I was already gaining weight.

MELISSA CHALMERS: It took a couple days

for the ringing in my ears to stop here, and after two days

I never wanted to leave.

There no other place like it that I've seen.

LAURA LING: But as technology continues to creep in,

things may be getting a little louder in the quiet zone.

JONAH BAUSERMAN: We've got quite a few Wi-Fi modems here

in the area.

These could potentially cause harmful radio frequency

interference to the telescope.

I would say there's probably maybe 40, maybe 50 Wi-Fi modems

just driving through the town of Green Bank.

LAURA LING: Wow, that's a lot of Wi-Fi for the town that's

not supposed to have any Wi-Fi.

JONAH BAUSERMAN: It's a little bit disheartening,

but it is what it is, I suppose.

LAURA LING: Even though they're not supposed to,

people here are accessing things such as wireless technology,

and so you have to wonder, how long can this place truly

remain a quiet zone?

MELISSA CHALMERS: I think eventually the zone

will be threatened.

People are going to want to use the technology,

because they want to use it.

I don't know what I'll do.

JONAH BAUSERMAN: The type of science that we're doing here

is not just for right here, right now,

in this day and time.

It's for the next generation.

The universe is vast, it's huge, it's magnificent,

and to be able to take a tool like this

and look back through time is just astounding to me.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LAURA LING: Be sure to watch one of these other episodes.

Click the top video for a look into the science

behind fecal transplants and how it's saving lives.

Or click the bottom video to see how a Hollywood stunt man

mentally prepares to get lit on fire.

Thanks for watching, and please subscribe.