Contrary to popular belief, microwave ovens do not cause cancer. This is a worry that has existed for decades. It may arouse the image of a child. He stands in front of the microwave oven, peeps through the dark door, but is told to step back, otherwise he may be troubled by an inexplicable disease, or worse, radiation poisoning.
Data map
Due to the progress of science, engineering and technology, microwave is now considered to be safe, effective and efficient. However, recent research from Texas A & M University shows that exposure to certain extremely high-power microwaves and radio frequencies can lead to high stress in the brain.
J. Assistant Professor Justin Wilkerson of Mike Walker'66 Department of mechanical engineering and researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and air force research laboratory reasonably studied the effects of high-power pulsed microwave on human body. Microwave is most commonly used in fast cooking. It is an electromagnetic radiation, which is between radio and infrared light in the electromagnetic spectrum.
By using the calculation model, the team's two simulation methods first calculate the specific absorption rate (SAR) of plane electromagnetic wave on the three-dimensional human model. Then, the SAR value is used to calculate the temperature changes of the whole head and brain. These temperature changes will be used to determine how brain tissue physically changes in response to high-intensity microwaves.
"Microwave heating leads to the rapid thermal expansion of spatial changes, and then induces mechanical waves to spread in the brain, just like ripples in a pond," Wilkerson said. "We found that if these waves interact in the right way in the center of the brain, the conditions for inducing brain injury are ideal."
Wilkerson's research, published in science advances, shows that when a small temperature rise is applied in a very short time (microseconds), it will produce potentially harmful stress waves. Imagine concentrating all the microwave energy needed to pop a bag of popcorn into a millionth of a second and then aiming it at the brain.
However, there is no need to worry about daily exposure to microwave or RF levels. Wilkerson's research includes an order of magnitude much larger than any power that ordinary people will be exposed to.
"Although the power density required to work here is several orders of magnitude greater than most real-world exposure conditions, they can be achieved through equipment designed to emit high-power electromagnetic pulses in military and research applications," Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson and the team used finite element simulation as part of their computational model -- the same model used to predict traumatic brain injury in car accidents, football impacts, and even explosions on the battlefield. By applying it to a new energy deposition - microwave, Wilkerson opens the door to more research on the interaction between organisms and electromagnetic fields and their applications.