5 ms·

> it's also safe to use under international standards in the presence of birds, animals, and people Wow, is it really safe to beam 1.6kW of microwave energy th

> it's also safe to use under international standards in the presence of birds, animals, and people Wow, is it really safe to beam 1.6kW of microwave energy through a person?

speed_spread 5y ago
The beam is likely much wider than a person and at a precise frequency requiring a tuned antenna to convert it efficiently to electricity or heat. You might not want to stand in it for minutes, but passing through would be safe enough.
skykooler 5y ago
Theoretically, it should be equivalent to standing directly in front of a space heater in the worst case (if the human absorbs 100% of the microwaves).
qgin 5y ago
Depends on how focused the energy is. The sun is beaming over 1MW per square meter and it doesn’t vaporize people.
- DennisP 5y ago
  Actually one kilowatt per square meter.
  - SigmundA 5y ago
    And that will burn your skin and give you cancer.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
nwiswell 5y ago
There's a pretty big spectrum between "safe" and "catastrophic". Probably only a fraction of a percent of the transmission energy is getting absorbed by the body, but that doesn't mean I'd want to try it out. I think the idea is that you'd take basic measures to try to avoid/discourage exposure, but you wouldn't have to worry about any extreme safety measures to guarantee it.
freemint 5y ago
Well, apparently. For reference neutrinos from the Sun are around 30W 24/7 and does it harm us? https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-is-in-the-neutrinos-passing-through-me https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-is-in-the-neutrinos-pa...
- moffkalast 5y ago
  Yeah but microwaves aren't exactly neutrinos, those don't really interact with much of anything at all. Like comparing a sound wave with a dump truck hitting you in the face. Water absorbs microwaves like a dry sponge, which is why microwave ovens are a thing and wifi over water sucks. Humans are what, 60% water?

> it's also safe to use under international standards in the presence of birds, animals, and people Wow, is it really safe to beam 1.6kW of microwave energy through a person?

speed_spread 5y ago

The beam is likely much wider than a person and at a precise frequency requiring a tuned antenna to convert it efficiently to electricity or heat. You might not want to stand in it for minutes, but passing through would be safe enough.

skykooler 5y ago

Theoretically, it should be equivalent to standing directly in front of a space heater in the worst case (if the human absorbs 100% of the microwaves).

qgin 5y ago

Depends on how focused the energy is. The sun is beaming over 1MW per square meter and it doesn’t vaporize people.

DennisP 5y ago
Actually one kilowatt per square meter.
- SigmundA 5y ago
  And that will burn your skin and give you cancer.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

nwiswell 5y ago

There's a pretty big spectrum between "safe" and "catastrophic". Probably only a fraction of a percent of the transmission energy is getting absorbed by the body, but that doesn't mean I'd want to try it out. I think the idea is that you'd take basic measures to try to avoid/discourage exposure, but you wouldn't have to worry about any extreme safety measures to guarantee it.

freemint 5y ago

Well, apparently. For reference neutrinos from the Sun are around 30W 24/7 and does it harm us? https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-is-in-the-neutrinos-passing-through-me https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-is-in-the-neutrinos-pa...

moffkalast 5y ago
Yeah but microwaves aren't exactly neutrinos, those don't really interact with much of anything at all. Like comparing a sound wave with a dump truck hitting you in the face. Water absorbs microwaves like a dry sponge, which is why microwave ovens are a thing and wifi over water sucks. Humans are what, 60% water?