The role of water in microwave absorption by biological material with particular reference to microwave hazards

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Abstract
The problem of the absorption of plane electromagnetic radiation by an aqueous solution of macromolecules is considered. A simplified model for the hydrated molecule is employed, consisting of a spherical shell of bound H2O surrounding a spherical core. The power deposition per unit volume of the shell is calculated in the frequency range 100 MHz-100 GHz for several bound H2O relaxation frequencies. In each case the corresponding values are calculated for free H2O for comparison. The values for the bound H2O are significantly higher than those for the free H2O up to frequencies of at least 1 GHz. The maximum difference between these 2 sets of values is of a factor of 5 and occurs roughly at the bound H2O relaxation frequency. The strong coupling between the bound H2O molecules and the macromolecules present in biological material may explain some biological effects of microwaves at a molecular level.