We are living in a modern era, confident of our advanced status in science, technology and knowledge, and it is easy to forget about the many myths that have become a source of incorrect inputs when making decisions. A myth is an unfounded or false notion usually accepted just because its arguments are so flexible that they appeal to naive common sense. It is unnecessary to justify the many myths, good and bad, about microwaves and microwave ovens to educated people that usually find them unbelievable. Frightening authoritarian-sounding statements are found all over the Internet, such as: “Exposure to microwaves or even prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood” or “What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain”, however these myths are easily dismissed with a basic understanding of the sciences of chemical bonding, heat transfer and nature of waves. People with sound scientific understanding, most of it acquired in school, understand that there is no reason to assume that microwaves, such as those employed for broadcasting satellite television, are a cancer risk because they are not energetic enough to alter DNA; not even at the high power required for heating and cooking, encountered only in ovens designed for that purpose. A certain level of scientific naiveté is required for believing these myths, and believers often make poor decisions, resulting in hazardous, expensive or useless actions. While the narrative behind the myth is problematical, the greater problems are those resulting from these improper actions. Thus, the importance of providing correct and proper information is more than a scholarly issue. Education and the dissemination of correct information to the audience is necessary for creating an educated common sense. A simple basic understanding of matter and waves interaction will result in an enhanced ability for understanding the facts that prevent misunderstanding of concepts as “scientific facts”. Competing with mass communication media, that instantly and without filtering transmits both validated, and unsubstantiated information, is a great challenge. IMPI, as well as professional associations in other fields, is committed to provide reliable and understandable material intended to increase ratio of “founded

中文翻译：

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编者的话

我们生活在一个现代时代，对我们在科学、技术和知识方面的先进地位充满信心，而且很容易忘记许多已成为决策错误输入来源的神话。神话是一种毫无根据或错误的观念，通常只是因为它的论点非常灵活，以至于它们诉诸天真的常识。没有必要向受过教育的人证明有关微波炉和微波炉的许多神话，无论好坏，都通常认为它们令人难以置信。互联网上到处都可以找到听起来很吓人的专制声明，例如：“接触微波炉或什至长时间食用微波食品会导致人体血液中的癌细胞增加”或“微波辐射的作用最简单的说法与所发生的情况相似用微波炉加热食物，本质上是在烹饪大脑”，然而，只要对化学键合、热传递和波的性质有基本的了解，这些神话就很容易被驳回。具有良好科学知识的人（大部分是在学校获得的）明白，没有理由假设微波（例如用于广播卫星电视的微波）具有致癌风险，因为它们没有足够的能量来改变 DNA；甚至在加热和烹饪所需的高功率下也不会，只有为此目的而设计的烤箱才会遇到。相信这些神话需要一定程度的科学天真，信徒经常做出错误的决定，导致危险、昂贵或无用的行为。虽然神话背后的叙述是有问题的，但更大的问题是由这些不当行为造成的。因此，提供正确和适当信息的重要性不仅仅是一个学术问题。教育和向观众传播正确的信息对于创造受过教育的常识是必要的。对物质和波相互作用的简单基本理解将增强对事实的理解能力，从而防止将概念误解为“科学事实”。与大众传播媒体竞争，即即时且未经过滤地传输经过验证和未经证实的信息，这是一项巨大的挑战。IMPI 以及其他领域的专业协会，致力于提供可靠且易于理解的材料，旨在提高“成立 教育和向观众传播正确的信息对于创造受过教育的常识是必要的。对物质和波相互作用的简单基本理解将增强对事实的理解能力，从而防止将概念误解为“科学事实”。与大众传播媒体竞争，即即时且未经过滤地传输经过验证和未经证实的信息，这是一项巨大的挑战。IMPI 以及其他领域的专业协会，致力于提供可靠且易于理解的材料，旨在提高“成立 教育和向观众传播正确的信息对于创造受过教育的常识是必要的。对物质和波相互作用的简单基本理解将增强对事实的理解能力，从而防止将概念误解为“科学事实”。与大众传播媒体竞争，即即时且未经过滤地传输经过验证和未经证实的信息，这是一项巨大的挑战。IMPI 以及其他领域的专业协会，致力于提供可靠且易于理解的材料，旨在提高“成立 对物质和波相互作用的简单基本理解将增强对事实的理解能力，从而防止将概念误解为“科学事实”。与大众传播媒体竞争，即即时且未经过滤地传输经过验证和未经证实的信息，这是一项巨大的挑战。IMPI 以及其他领域的专业协会，致力于提供可靠且易于理解的材料，旨在提高“成立 对物质和波相互作用的简单基本理解将增强理解事实的能力，从而防止将概念误解为“科学事实”。与大众传播媒体竞争，即即时且未经过滤地传输经过验证和未经证实的信息，这是一项巨大的挑战。IMPI 以及其他领域的专业协会，致力于提供可靠且易于理解的材料，旨在提高“成立