Electromagnetic Surface Wave Penetration of Biological Media

Abstract

The subject of this paper is a class of electromagnetic phenomena which is based upon the usual linear formulation of Maxwell’s equations. It does, however, bear strongly upon the subject matter of this symposium devoted to non-linear electrodynamics. If we are concerned about the effects of electromagnetic fields upon living tissue, we must always begin with the question of the relationship between the externally applied field and the field which is acting upon the bio-molecules in the tissue. Thus the question of the penetration depth of applied fields is an important one. The results which we have obtained demonstrate that under certain special circumstances, at least, this depth may be considerably larger than usually assumed. Although these results appear to have important applications in the design of therapeutic devices, the question of their significance to the the problem of possible bioelectromagnetic effects is still a matter of speculation.