When you’re tired on a lazy night and want to heat up something to eat quickly, you may be tempted to grab one of the microwaves in your kitchen. You just need to pop a frozen dinner in and, a minute or two later, your food is hot. But how do microwaves do this?
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with a frequency between 300 gigahertz and 100 megahertz. They’re produced by the magnetron in a microwave oven and travel down an antenna into the cooking chamber. As they bounce around, they stimulate water molecules in the food, which vibrate to generate heat energy.
The more energy the water molecules get, the faster they start to vibrate. This vibration causes friction, which in turn creates more heat energy. It’s the same concept that causes your microwave to cook your pizza or boil your cup of coffee.
Interestingly, the same process also makes your phone’s speakers work. By altering the frequency of the microwaves, a cellphone converts the acoustics of your voice into encoded microwave signals that travel over the air to a cell tower where they are converted back to sounds.
Some people worry that microwaves are harmful. However, the FDA states that microwaves are safe when used as directed. It’s important to note, though, that prolonged exposure to microwave radiation can cause cataracts in the eye, due to dielectric heating induced by the absorption of microwaves by the crystalline lens and cornea.
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