NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Microwave heating could warm the home, double as a power supply, and cut home heating costs by as much as 75%, according to scientists at the Microwave Research Center in Marlborough, New Hampshire. A report in the December 18 issue of New Scientist describes how researchers are acting as "guinea pigs" for the experimental home heating system, which warms people by exciting the body's water molecules, thus raising body temperature.
The microwave home heating test room has one wall containing a hole that permits a standard 800-watt transmitter to send microwaves into the room. The walls are lined with metal to reflect microwaves around the room, and giant metal blades attached to the walls "stir" the microwaves to prevent hot spots -- much as a carousel in a microwave oven rotates food to ensure even heating or cooking.
The researchers discovered that they felt some warmth at microwave levels that were "several hundred times less than the level inside a microwave oven." They believe the system would be efficient, slash household heating bills, and, since microwaves can cause light bulbs to switch on, the system could be used to power "wireless lights."
Some critics say the system is "doomed"; others point to the many hurdles that must be overcome. Technical problems involving uneven heating of furniture and other objects in a room would have to be worked out.
Safety is an issue, since heat could build up in parts of the body that are very exposed, such as the eyes. Some say the skull might concentrate microwaves into the brain. Even if the system eventually were proven safe, it may be difficult to persuade the public of its safety.
Even advocates admit that microwave heating of homes won't happen any time soon. According to Buffer, it will take "a decade of research before we see any movement...."
SOURCE: New Scientist (December 18, 1996)
