Different frequencies of electromagnetic waves have different wavelengths. For example, radio waves have long wavelengths that range from about 1 meter to hundreds or even thousands of meters and visible light (VIBGYOR) has short wavelengths that range from about 400 nanometers to about 750 nanometers. Microwaves are those electromagnetic waves with wavelengths between 1 millimeter and 1 meter. The microwaves used in microwave cooking have frequency of 2.45GHz and wavelengths of 12.2 centimeters.
It is very important to understand that microwave transmission are only a tool whose applications are left to the user to the best possible way he/she can think of. As more and more people learn about microwaves, obviously the people who think differently come up with unique ways to use their tools, including criminal uses also. But listing all the uses and misuses of microwaves is virtually impossible. A few conventional uses of microwaves include:
1) Microwave cooking ranges
2) Microwave washing machines
3) Cell Phones
4) Sub system of Cable TV
5) Communication systems
6) Space links etc.
However, I would like to concentrate on the misuses and non-conventional uses of microwaves, which are gaining importance in the area of military and personal warfare. For example, how does a microwave oven cook food? First of all the microwave oven uses a magnetron operating in the frequency of 2.45 GHz. This has a wavelength of 12.2 cm. Now this frequency is enough to penetrate a potato placed in your oven. But, while doing so, it twists the water molecules within your food back and forth, thereby causing thermal energy to be generated between them, which is in turn transferred to your potato by conduction process, making your potato hot from inside out. But what happens when these electromagnetic waves are focused on a living being? As happens with a light wave, which can be collimated with a simple magnifying lens, a microwave source can be focused or set to reflect in a particular direction only [with means of antennas, or precisely a horn antenna]. A living being consists mostly of water. Our bodies are majority water. Very simply put, a microwave oven, taken apart and coupled to a focusing antenna on top of the magnetron can be a potential lethal weapon. An attack like this is totally undetected and does not require the attacker to come directly in contact with the victim. An attack of this type is coined under the laws of electronic harassment. When a weapon is focused on to a victim, the microwaves penetrate about 1/64 inch of his skin and start heating up the skin intensely, causing blisters and burning of the top layer of the skin. Other symptoms may include but are not limited to: Headache, eye irritation, dizziness, nausea, skin rash, facial swelling, weakness, fatigue, pain in joints and/or muscles, buzzing/ringing in ears, skin numbness, abdominal pressure and pain, breathing difficulty, irregular heartbeat, sexual stimulation and hearing voices. Additional symptoms have been reported in some individuals such as paralysis, balance problems, body and/or muscle spasms, convulsions, confusion, depression, difficulty in concentrating, seizure, sleep disturbances, and memory difficulties. These are weapons of crimes that almost nobody knows except the victims and the offenders. Until now they make the perfect crime possible. No doubt, these weapons have a terrible future.
Expert Pevler stresses: “The development of high-power microwave (HPM) weaponry, and its proliferation into subversive organizations, offers the means to commit the ‘perfect crime’. HPM attacks typically leave no residual evidence and their effects can range from nuisance to catastrophic” (1997). Continue Reading »
