STORIES about potential health risks from (and occasionally about medical a
pplications of) electromagnetic (EM) fields can be found everywhere from te
chnical journals to supermarket tabloids. In the 1970s and 1980s, microwave
radar and communication antennas received a lot of alarming press and more
recently, the EM fields from cellular telephones have come under heavy scr
utiny. This primer is intended to provide a basic framework for tackling bi
oelectromagnetic issues. It is by no means an all-encompassing study of the
biomedical effects of EM radiation, but is meant to include only those ide
as which may one day be useful for performing quick calculations of EM radi
ation and safety. The interested reader can, of course, consult the referen
ces for additional details or data as there is no shortage of specialized m
aterial (see, for example, references 2 and 3).