Microwaves Are Our Kitchen Allies

Microwaves are much more than just buttons and timers – they’re our kitchen allies that save us time and help keep our meals healthy. Despite the many rumors that circulate about microwaves (some of which may have been started by uninformed people), there is no evidence that microwaved food is less nutritious or causes health problems, especially when used as instructed.

In fact, some research shows that foods cooked in microwaves retain more of their nutrients than those cooked in conventional ovens. Microwaves can also help thaw frozen foods and are useful for reheating pre-cooked meals. They also are very energy efficient and convenient for a number of other tasks.

It is true that microwaves do leak electromagnetic radiation but this is insignificant, far less than what other everyday devices, such as mobile phones and computers, emit. There are strict limits set on how much radiation a microwave can leak throughout its lifetime and it is never enough to cause harm in any way.

Microwave radiation is part of the radio wave spectrum but unlike longer, lower-frequency radio waves that can reflect off ionosphere and air molecules, microwaves travel solely by line-of-sight paths. This is why radar (Radio Detection and Ranging) guns work by sending a short burst of microwaves that bounce off oncoming traffic to determine their speed.

Large dish antennas in radio telescopes can receive naturally occurring cosmic microwave background radiation and use it to study the patterns of stars, nebulas, galaxies and planets. These observations are helping scientists to understand the Big Bang.