Re: Microwaves for You (SMTP Id#: 510) - Reply

[Bob Flood <bflood@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

At 08:58 AM 3/7/97 -0600, you wrote:
>As to what you are trying to
>do with central heating, you are trying to decrease the heat loss from
your 37
>degree body to the surroundings.  If your skin layer is warmed by an external
>makeup source you will loose less heat from your internal core, and feel
>warmer.  Radiant energy heaters work without heating the air much.  I can
see a
>microwave source that imitates a wood fire emmision as being much more
>efficient than heating all the air in my living room.  After it is used on
animals for 
>a few years I could see this being offered for home use.
>

OK, I have to jump in on this one.

Heat will inevitably flow from a place containing more heat to a place
containing less heat. That is why we have weather. The flow RATE between 2
locations is a function of (among other things) the heat gradient, i.e., it
depends on how large the heat difference is between the 2 locations. Thus,
while the body produces its own heat, it loses that heat to its
surroundings at a rate that is somewhat dependent on the temperature of
those surroundings. If the internal temperature of the body is artificially
enhanced by microwaves without a corresponding increase in temperature in
the person's immediate environment, the loss rate will increase as the
difference between the body temp and air temp widens.

The body is very good at producing its own heat. Minimizing the heat loss
is more practical than trying to increase that heat and wouldn't involve
the risk of unexpected or undesired side effects like eye problems,
temporary sterility etc. So I think one would achieve more in the way of
personal comfort in the winter months by wearing a hat, even indoors (since
most heat is lost through the top of the head - remember, heat rises) than
by microwaving the living room.

Anyway, wouldn't the body respond to a microwave-induced higher temperature
in the same way it does to a fever?


Bob Flood
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
(415) 926-3793     bflood@slac.stanford.edu
Unless otherwise noted, all opinions are mine alone.