talkmagic.co.uk

http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards.htm

while there are no sources in the article and uhm the probability that the BS factor is not too low it is still an interesting one

greets

Where did these guys learn physics?

Food for tought eh... you're Irish then I take it?!

That's a pretty funny link, and does indeed serve to warn us all of a hidden danger... the danger of people who can convince the general public that they know what they're talking about!

I thought it was going to be the same as one I saw a while back, one of whose key points in their reasons to throw out your microwave was "mothers always know best. And many mothers and grandmothers instinctively don't trust or use microwaves. So they're clearly dangerous."

I especially liked the idea of DC electromagnetic energy. It shows real if misplaced imagination and a determination to make gaps in knowledge appear as facts.

I vaguely recall something along this line cropping up in an Urban Legends listing years ago...

This stuff and information like it is funny but it is also seriously annoying and, in some cases, dangerous. I know family friends that have thoroughly 'researched' various health related topics i.e. they've googled for information but haven't considered that some of the information on the internet is ahem...less than accurate. As a result they have stopped taking prescription medication in favour of some internet snake oil.

I never cease to be amazed at how often people are prepared to assume that there is some big business cover up or suppression of a miracle cure or, in this case, that big business is suppressing the hidden dangers of a technology like microwave heating. I'm not saying cover ups never happen (tobacco industry anyone!?) but it seems a bit paranoid!

As for warnings not to warm baby milk in microwaves this is because microwaves heat notoriously unevenly and there could be hot spots that would burn the infant's mouth!!

well that doesnt say much for your friends i believe.

as far as the business coverups go...youd be surprized what oes as long as the profit is good enough. i think believeing that the industry puts your benefits behinds its own is a bit naive. its a business and it must deliver otherwise it will go broke. so they will sell you sh*t and tell you it is good for you and you should buy more. im rather paranoid on that one my friend

now concernng the artice

I especially liked the idea of DC electromagnetic energy. It shows real if misplaced imagination and a determination to make gaps in knowledge appear as facts.

what do you mean? i am not a physics buff but iirc the article states that the microvawes use dipole rotation to heat the food. so whats wrong with it?

i dont say that i totaly agree with the article since it lacks sources and proofs (hence food for thought and not READ IT, FOLLOW IT ) but even if 1% of it applies its enough for me not to use a microvawe

greets

What does greets mean?

memorire wrote:what do you mean? i am not a physics buff but iirc the article states that the microvawes use dipole rotation to heat the food. so whats wrong with it?

i dont say that i totaly agree with the article since it lacks sources and proofs (hence food for thought and not READ IT, FOLLOW IT ) but even if 1% of it applies its enough for me not to use a microvawe

greets

The microwaves excite the molecules in the food that is being heated, wobbling them around a bit ("heat" in a material is simply the kinetic energy of the particles it contains and is not a thing in itself, so the whole molecular friction stuff is rubbish). How the microwaves are formed is irrelevant, microwaves are microwaves, wether they are of a single frequency or spread over a wide band of frequencies is irrelevant and bringing up the topic of "radiation treatment" (which is irrelevant) is simply a ploy to get you more worried.

Taking any advice from someone so woefully unaware of the actual physics and so able to creatively edit the articles that have been posted which may have been scientifically accurate so as to only print the bits that fit with his scaremongering (as noted above, the dangers of warming baby milk are from uneven heating or the risk of inadvertently overheating) is ridiculous. Unfortunately, most people don't have the knowledge themselves to know when what they are reading is utter tosh which means that this sort of webpage can be easily propagated on the internet.

I know that I am not the only member here with a physics degree and that there are other scientists around too, so take our advice and don't fall for this kind of thing; if you genuinely are worried then look for proper peer reviewed papers on the subject and don't rely on edited highlights of decades old research that doesn't appear to be very scientifically rigourous in most cases anyway.

cragglecat wrote:I never cease to be amazed at how often people are prepared to assume that there is some big business cover up or suppression of a miracle cure or, in this case, that big business is suppressing the hidden dangers of a technology like microwave heating. I'm not saying cover ups never happen (tobacco industry anyone!?) but it seems a bit paranoid!

Indeed, but in terms of evolutionary psychology, there's a good reason to jump to such conclusions - it keeps you erring on the side of caution. The trouble is, like a lot of cognitive biases, it feels better to simply accept that there's a conspiracy rather do the work to overcome the cognitive dissonance that challenging yourself generates - so such nonsense spreads by means of least resistance. What is it they say, never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity? That's very good advice!

memorire wrote:

I especially liked the idea of DC electromagnetic energy. It shows real if misplaced imagination and a determination to make gaps in knowledge appear as facts.

what do you mean? i am not a physics buff but iirc the article states that the microvawes use dipole rotation to heat the food. so whats wrong with it?

Electromagnetic radiation of any frequency, regardless of its source, is always AC. The key word here is "frequency"

Tomo wrote:Electromagnetic radiation of any frequency, regardless of its source, is always AC. The key word here is "frequency"

hah thanks mate actually i feel a bit ashamed. you are right frequency should have ringed the bells

greets