Microwave ovens are
a marvel of modern kitchen technology. Many of us can remember a
time before microwave ovens when even heating the simplest leftover
would require the oven to heat up and could take quite a while. Not
only that, but such simple foods as a baked potato would take a
great deal of time where today it will be done in a microwave in a
matter of a few minutes. While many understand the basics of a
traditional oven and how it works, they really don't necessarily
understand what makes the microwave oven of today's kitchen
work.
Microwave ovens
use microwaves. A microwave is a type of electromagnetic
radiation in a higher frequency range than radio waves. It actually
is around the same frequency range that some wireless network
devices and some portable phones use. This is the 2 gigahertz
frequency range. Now, electromagnetic waves at this frequency can
penetrate and affect waters, fat and sugars. When it does so, the
atoms of these substance start to vibrate and become warmer and
warmer as they continue to be exposed to the microwaves. Human
tissue can be affected by radiation in this range of the
electromagnetic spectrum. The eyes are especially sensitive to this
frequency range. For this reason it is very important that you
never operate a microwave that is damaged or the door or door latch
is broken. It's also important not to stand against a microwave
while it is in operation.
That much said, microwave ovens are a perfectly safe way to reheat
food. The air inside a microwave does not naturally heat up and so
there will be no browning or crisping of anything reheated within
the oven. For this reason some microwave foods will
come wrapped in a material that will heat and then in turn heat and
brown or crisp the outside of the food that they package.
Since microwaves are emitted from one side of an oven, many such
ovens will be designed with a rotating plate which is designed to
help food cook thoroughly. It is possible that the microwaves may
not penetrate through particularly thick foods and this movement
helps to make more even distribution of the radiation as the plate
turns.
The wavelength of microwaves is around 12 centimeters and for this
reason, unless it is damaged the waves should not escape the
cabinet of the microwave unless it is damaged or poorly designed.
Microwave ovens have a magnetron inside them which is the source of
the radiation that is used to cook our food. If you run a microwave
without anything in it you will see sparks as the microwaves have
nothing to be absorbed by and reflect and then collide with each
other. The same is true if you use a substance that reflects the
waves such as metal. Materials that do not absorb microwaves are
considered microwave safe and include plastics, glass and
ceramics.



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