Tech Device

Microwave

 Inside the microwave, there is a microwave generator called a magnetron. When you start cooking, the magnetron takes electricity from the power outlet and converts it into high-powered, 12cm (4.7 inch) radio waves. The magnetron blasts these waves into the food compartment through a channel called a wave guide. The food sits on a turntable, spinning slowly round so the microwaves cook it evenly. The microwaves bounce back and forth off the reflective metal walls of the food compartment, just like light bounces off a mirror. When the microwaves reach the food itself, they don't simply bounce off. Just as radio waves can pass straight through the walls of your house, so microwaves penetrate inside the food. As they travel through it, they make the molecules inside it vibrate more quickly. Vibrating molecules have heat so, the faster the molecules vibrate, the hotter the food becomes. Thus the microwaves pass their energy onto the molecules in the food, rapidly heating it up.

Microwaves and Resonance

The food you put in the microwave has water molecules, which are polar, meaning that they have great electronegativity difference between the atoms. This allows the water molecules to direct themselves with electric fields. The micro waves are electromagnetic waves which vary constantly the electric and magnetic field in a frequency around 2.4 GHz. When these waves hit the water molecules, they try to change direction constantly and vibrate. Since temperature is the molecule`s motion, the temperature then increases and heats the food.