>>11264784Before going into experimental research, it is necessary to define certain terms which are frequently treated ambiguously. These are thermal and non-thermal effects. Therma1 effects are those biologic suquelae which are due to integral rise of temperature of the body and its separate parts during whole body or local irradiation.
Thermal effects are those biologic sequelae which are due to integral rise are the result of uneven heating of microstructures of a heterogeneous biologic tissue and may occur in the absence of the integral thermal effect. Finally, non-therma1 or "extrathermal" effects are due to conversion of electromagnetic energy within an object into another form of non-thermal energy (molecular resonance absorption, photochemical reaction, etc.).
The present lack of adequate methods for separating nonthermal from thermoselective effects is the sole reason for their being put together under the provisional name of "non-thermal" effects.
The occurrence of pronounced biologic effects of microwaves of intensities which do not evoke the integral heat effect (less than 10 mW/cm2) has been convincingly shown independently by a number of Soviet and foreign authors. Although there are differences of opinion on the "non-thermal" or "microthermal" nature of the biologic effects of low levels of energy, there should be no doubt at present as to the actual existence of these effects.
[...]
