FAMOUS CREATION OF THE DAY THE MICROWAVE OVEN It is truly amazing how the creation of one device brings

s about the creation of so many others and thats exactly what happened in the case of the microwave

oven. Its introduction led to the production of minute-ready meals as never seen before.

DESCRIPTION: The microwave

oven is a kitchen appliance that uses molecules present in the

electromagnetic radiation to heat up the water food item.

HOW IT WORKS: The basic parts that make up a microwave oven are:1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Magnetron Oven cavity Wave guide Mode stirrer Metal reflectors

Water is a polar molecule due to its structure, meaning that one side of its molecular structure (oxygen) is negative while the other side (hydrogen) is positive . As a result of this quality, water is agitated when penetrated by electromagnetic radiation and this fact is manipulated to good effect in microwave

ovens. The magnetron produces the electromagnetic radiation and passes it over to the mode stirrer and wave guide which help to release the radiation evenly about the oven cavity. As the radiation moves about the oven cavity, it produces electric fields which alternate between positive and negative fields; since water is present in most food items, it reacts accordingly to these changes.

When the electric field created is negative, the water molecules rotate so as to minimise the repulsion effect between the oxygen end and the negative electric field, and vice versa if the field created is positive. As the water molecules rotate

constantly, they hit surrounding molecules present in the food item and these also begin to move in a random fashion. This consistent hitting and colliding of molecules within the food item, creates friction which in turn releases energy in

the form of heat and this causes the food radiation can go through most kinds of paper

item to get hot. Microwave , plastic or glass

but cannot go through metal and that is why little slabs of metal are placed on the inner sides of the microwave oven so that they reflect back any stray radiation. And that is the basic principle of the microwave oven.

INVENTOR(S) OF THE MICROWAVE OVEN: In 1940 during World War

II, three British scientists, Sir John T. Randall, Harry Boot and James Sayers, improved on the magnetron concept introduced over 20 years before, by

the renowned American scientist, Albert magnetrons into the British radar

Hull. By installing their improved system, the microwaves produced were on the

able to detect the Nazi warplanes on their way to drop bombs

British Isles. In 1946, Dr Percy L. Spencer, an engineer working in the Raytheon Company, was carrying out research on magnetrons when he made a surprising discovery. At work one day, he discovered that the candy bar in his pocket had melted whilst he was working on the magnetrons and this prompted him to carry out further experiments. He put several corn kernels near the magnetron tube and once again, something unusual happened; the corn kernels popped into white, pillowy substances. The next morning, he

placed an egg near the magnetron tube and this time, he observed in the company of a colleague. True to form, the egg began to shake vigorously and eventually burst open, spilling the hot yolk on the face of the accompanying colleague when he moved closer to get a better look. It was then Dr Percy acknowledged without a doubt that he had stumbled on a discovery that could possibly yield enormous financial dividends. He communicated this new discovery to his superiors and was allowed to begin proper experiments on the magnetron. He successfully created a test microwave oven which consisted of a metal box with an internal opening for feeding the microwave radiation. The radiation was properly contained in the metal box thus preventing escape. When

any food was placed in the box with the microwave radiation at full blast, the temperature of the food rose very quickly in the shortest possible time. When the Raytheon management saw how successful the test run was, they began to produce it commercially and called this new creation Radarange culled from the

winning name entry in an employee contest. Marvin

Bock of the

Raytheon Company built the first practical, commercially viable microwave oven known as the Radarange Model 1132 in 1947.

EVOLUTION OF THE MICROWAVE OVEN: Initial sales of the first units

were very disappointing due to their large cost ($2000 - $3000) and bulky structure (340kg). But with continuous research and positive testimonials from brave users, sales began to pick up. In the mid 50s, Tappan Company introduced a more compact, lightweight domestic model priced at $1295. In 1965, Raytheon acquired the Amana Refrigeration Company and within two years, had begun selling domestic microwave ovens costing $495 from this new division. That same year, Amana division executives launched a national teaching campaign on how to use the microwave oven. They held several state fairs with Amana hosts serving coffee

, heating meals and making popcorn . They had several Chicagobased trained home economists on 24-hour call and their job was mainly to install and cook meals in clients homes. This campaign could singlehandedly be

attributed with the acceptance of microwave ovens in American homes

By 1975, sales of microwave ovens had exceeded that of gas

cookers

and by 1976, a microwave dishwasher.

oven was more commonly owned than a

COMMON FOODS COOKED WITH THE MICROWAVE:

1) Popcorn

2) Pizza 3) Poached eggs 4) Microwave dinners 5) Baked potatoes 6) Lasagne

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ONLINE SOURCES
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Suite101: How do Microwaves work? University of Alaska - Fairbanks: How microwaves work University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: How do microwaves work? Idea Finder: History of the Microwave Microwaves101: History of the Microwave SMECC: Microwave History Wikipedia: Cavity Magnetron