On 13/04/2010 15:47, klem kedidelhopper wrote:
I was speaking to a friend the other day about microwave cooking and
he told me that he was under the impression that during microwave
heating of food the molecular structure is changed to a state which
may be either carcinogenic or somehow otherwise unhealthful for human
consumption.

That argument is put forward for gamma irradiation of food, and has some
following there. If bombarding me with gamma makes me grow two heads,
there is no telling what it will do to food.

However this is different. Yes, microwaves cook by molecularly exciting
water, which then heats the food by conduction.

Making water get hot does not release poisons to my knowledge.

However, if there are materials in there that are non-food, and they get
overheated, or if you burn your food and create carbon (like when too
long on the camp fire) then that is not too healthy to eat.

And equally if the food is unevenly heated, and parts remain still
frozen, you can bet that that will cause some stomach upset.

Unless it's about burning food to charcoal, your friend has misheard
something and is wrong.

Regarding RF, have irrational phobias by all means if they make you feel
better. Sure too much exposure IS harmful, but there are SAR limits that
are waaaaay below that. There is also the inverse square law of physics
and our logarithmic relationships to sensory stimulus.

Trying to reason with reference to the 'evils of corporate concerns' is
frankly a smoke screen to something else that you haven't yet
understood, and is not really a sensible starting point to a serious
debate about product safety.

--
Adrian C