Microwave effect on diffusion: a possible mechanism for non-thermal effect.
Hinrikus H, Lass J, Karai D, Pilt K, Bachmann M. · 2014
View Original AbstractMicrowaves at 0.4 W/kg accelerated molecular diffusion in water by 70% without heating, revealing non-thermal biological mechanisms.
Plain English Summary
Researchers tested whether low-level microwave radiation affects how substances move through water by setting up two water containers connected by a tube and measuring how salt spread between them. They found that 450 MHz microwaves at 0.4 W/kg made diffusion happen 1.7 times faster, even though water temperature stayed constant. This suggests microwaves can alter water's molecular structure in ways that go beyond simple heating effects.
Why This Matters
This study provides important evidence for non-thermal biological mechanisms of EMF exposure. The research demonstrates that microwave radiation at levels well below heating thresholds can alter fundamental properties of water by disrupting hydrogen bonds between molecules. What makes this particularly significant is that our bodies are roughly 60% water, and cellular processes depend heavily on how substances move through this aqueous environment. The 0.4 W/kg exposure level used here is within the range of everyday wireless device exposures, making these findings directly relevant to real-world EMF exposure scenarios. The science demonstrates that EMF effects extend far beyond the simple heating model that current safety standards rely upon.
Exposure Details
- SAR
- 0.4 W/kg
- Source/Device
- 450 MHz
Where This Falls on the Concern Scale
Study Details
In this study, we assume that microwave radiation affects hydrogen bonding between dipolar water molecules and through that diffusion in water at constant temperature.
The experimental study was performed on the setup of two identical reservoirs filled with pure water...
Our experimental data demonstrated that microwave exposure makes faster the process of diffusion in ...
This result is consistent with the proposed mechanism of low-level microwave effect: microwave radiation, rotating dipolar water molecules, causes high-frequency alterations of hydrogen bonds between water molecules, thereby affects its viscosity and makes faster diffusion.
Show BibTeX
@article{h_2014_microwave_effect_on_diffusion_1026,
author = {Hinrikus H and Lass J and Karai D and Pilt K and Bachmann M.},
title = {Microwave effect on diffusion: a possible mechanism for non-thermal effect.},
year = {2014},
url = {https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24856870/},
}