Re: Microwave oven and battery

[Neon John <johngd@bellsouth.net>]

"D. Kosloff" wrote:
> 
> I believe our skin has a very complex heat energy transfer sensing
> mechanism.  When we touch things we are not sensing temperature alone.  Take
> a block of wood and a piece of metal and heat them to the same temperature.
> I belive the wood will feel cooler because the wood has a lower heat
> capacity and heat transfer capability.  I noticed this effect driving across
> the Mohave Desert when it was 113 degrees.  The body of my truck in the
> shade could not be hotter than ambient temperature but it felt hotter and
> non metallic parts of the truck felt cooler as well.

True.  However, the heating effect from microwaves has a rather
unique feel, probably because the microwave heats to some depth
simultaneously.  I suspect that heat flow and the resultant gradient
across layers of nerve endings is a significant part of what we
associate with ordinary heat.  Microwave heat is different.  Hard to
describe but once you feel it, you won't forget it.  I learned years
ago when I was fooling around with microwave telephone relay
equipment that one could feel a few watts radiating from an open
waveguide.  If you absolutely don't have any other sort of test
equipment, that is a good test to see if an open waveguide is live
with enough power to worry about.

John
-- 
John De Armond
johngdSPAMNOT@bellsouth.net
http://personal.bellsouth.net/~johngd/
Neon John's Custom Neon
Cleveland, TN
"Bendin' Glass 'n Passin' Gas"
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html