ABSTRACT
Magnetic fields have been used as mechanism for coupling electromagnetic energy into biological systems for a large number of applications. This chapter presents an outline of some of the mathematics that describes the physics of the interaction of magnetic fields on biological systems and some effects of weak magnetic fields on the generation of radical. In a magnetic field, the energy of a molecule is modified by the interaction of the magnetic field with the magnetic dipole moments of the electrons, protons, and neutrons. Magnetic fields interact with biological materials both by applying torques to the dipole moments, by changing the energy levels and their occupation by electrons. The chapter considers the case where a molecule is split to form a free radical pair so that each of molecular fragments contains an outer electron with an unpaired spin. Free radicals can be carbon centered and formed in a number of common compounds including a variety of methyl and alkyl radicals.
