Microwave ovens were invented by accident by
an engineer named Percy Spencer when a chocolate bar in his pocket melted while
building magnetrons for radar sets in the 1940s. The microwave, which relies on
radio waves to work was theorized by James Maxwell Clark in 1864, and tested in
1886 by Henrich Hertz.
Robert Watson-Watt patented radar after his
1935 high frequency radio wave experiment. Following World War II microwave
frequencies began to be used for communications, and Dr. Percy Spencer's
accidental chocolate bar melting incident led to the patenting of microwave
ovens by the company he worked for, Raytheon. Below are some facts that make
the microwave the attractive mystery it is.
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The first microwave oven that was made by Raytheon
was 6 feet tall and weighed at least 750 pounds. Most people did not buy them
because they cost about $5000.
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·
By 1967, microwave ovens had come down in price
and in size. They were approximately $495, but this was still expensive. At
least they could fit on a counter top thanks to redesigning and improvements
in technology.
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The first commercial microwave oven was created in
1946, and by the mid-1990s 90% of the homes in the United States owned one.
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Although microwaves emit radiation, it is not
dangerous or cancer-causing because the microwaves are non-ionizing. You
won't get cancer from your microwave, unlike the potential from x-rays.
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Most people believe that microwaves cook from the
inside out. This is not true. Similar to the way other types of heat cook
food, microwaves cook from the outside inward.
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When a microwave is running there are microwaves
being absorbed by the food or liquid? If there is nothing in the microwave,
the waves reflect between the cooking chamber and the tube, and will burn the
magnetron out. Microwave cooking requires some water in the food in order to
work.
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Watching food cook in a microwave is not dangerous
as some believe. The mesh in the glass window stops the microwaves from
reaching you, and only light is able to pass through to your eyes.
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The microwave was designed to use a magnetron to
create the microwaves that cook or heat food or liquid.
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The first microwaves were cooled by water but they
were later changed to be cooled by air.
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The type of radiation that is used in microwave
ovens is also used in speed cameras used by police, radar, and cell phones.
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Microwaves are also used for broadcasting
television, treating muscle aches and pains, curing rubber, making bread
rise, and curing plywood.
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Some believe that by cooking food with microwaves,
nutrients such as vitamins and minerals are decreased or even destroyed.
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The microwave inventor Dr. Percy Spencer lived to
76 with no apparent health consequences from working around microwaves for
much of his adult life.
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“Men are
like microwave ovens. They heat up immediately, but things start to boil over
after about three minutes. Women are like conventional ovens. They take twenty
minutes to heat up, but can go on cooking for hours.” (Mardy Grothe)
[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“10 Things You Didn't Know About Microwaves” By Lizbeth Scordo
· “Here Are 7 Facts You Never Knew About Microwaves” by Jake Kilroy St
·
www.softschools.com
Erma Bombeck
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