WEBVTT - How Microwave Ovens Work 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.880 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve camera. 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:08.920 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technologies? With 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:17.720 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:17.800 --> 0:00:20.279 Welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Poulette, and 0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:22.000 I am the tech editor here at how stuff works 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:24.560 dot Com. And sitting across from me, as he always 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:27.560 does on these occasions, is senior writer Jonathan Strickland. And 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.640 we're coming to you alive, even though a blizzard of 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:34.000 epic proportions is going on directly outside the studio of 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:37.080 how stuff Works dot com, or at least it's snowing, 0:00:37.159 --> 0:00:43.440 and in Atlanta, that's like the snow apocalypse. Yeah, so 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:47.080 um as, as the world breaks down outside and we 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:50.400 see the angry mobs set fire two cars and raided 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:52.360 all the grocery stores for all the milk and bread 0:00:52.400 --> 0:00:55.720 that they have, eggs and eggs and toilet paper, we 0:00:55.920 --> 0:01:00.520 will we will soldier on and bring you another fresh, hot, 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:03.960 tasty episode of tech Stuff. And in this case, the 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:07.319 episode comes to a courtesy of a little listener mail. 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.039 This listener mail comes from Timas and I hope I'm 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:15.679 saying that correctly. It could also be Timas or some 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.520 other pronunciation of which I'm unfamiliar, and it goes like this. Hi, 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.640 I'm Timas from Taiwan. I'm in eighth grade. I just 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:25.240 started listening to your podcast and I already love it. 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:28.240 I have a quick question for you. How do microwaves work? 0:01:28.360 --> 0:01:31.360 Please answer it if you have time, preferably in a podcast. Thanks. 0:01:31.480 --> 0:01:34.240 Keep up the awesome work. Ps. Please reply so I 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:36.720 can make sure I have the right email address. Well, 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:39.680 I did reply, so he knows he has alright email address. Uh, 0:01:39.800 --> 0:01:42.640 we are going to talk about microwave ovens. We're assuming 0:01:42.680 --> 0:01:47.600 that's what he means by microwaves, because microwaves themselves are 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:53.840 a form of electro magnetic radiation. Yes, they are a 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:59.000 particular kind that their wavelengths can measure from anywhere from 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:02.200 a few centimeters to about a foot long. Uh, that's 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:06.120 huge for radio waves. Visible light is actually in the 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:12.120 pnenometer scale four seven hundreds or nanometers. I did it 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:15.679 the way you like, specifically, so we wouldn't have to 0:02:15.760 --> 0:02:22.119 do that, Yeah, which is which is why? Yes? Where Yeah? 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.880 So either either either either? Yeah? This is ah. This 0:02:26.960 --> 0:02:30.239 is all thanks to a guy named Percy Spencer. Yes, 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:35.640 back in nine, which, Uh, it's kind of a funny story. 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:38.919 I actually saw an episode of I can't even remember 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.240 what it was. It's one of those those history of 0:02:41.280 --> 0:02:45.280 mechanics shows, probably something, but anyway, it was talking about 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:50.400 different inventions, and the way he discovered microwaves could cook 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.880 was very very interesting. I mean, he was already working 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:57.400 with microwaves, but for radar purposes, because he was working 0:02:57.600 --> 0:02:59.840 his candy ball. He didn't melt this candy bar. He 0:02:59.880 --> 0:03:03.000 was working with a radar system, yes, which uses a 0:03:03.080 --> 0:03:05.720 device called a magnetron. Yes. He was working on it 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:09.600 for the Raytheon Corporation, Yes, and still is involved with 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:13.280 a lot of defense stuff. Yes, exactly. Yeah. So during 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:17.320 his his experiments, I mean, the magnetrons have been in 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.360 use for for several years up to that point, he 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:22.440 just noticed that when he took it out of its 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:24.720 uh of its casing and it was working on it 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.000 with some other experiments. He knows one day that the 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:31.239 candy bar he had in his pocket had mysteriously melted, 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.240 and he thought, I wonder if this has anything to 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:37.440 do with this magnetron do hickey, Except he probably thought 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.520 of it in much more scientific terms. He then decided 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:43.600 to try and experiment. He placed some kernels of unpopped 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:48.080 popcorn next to it. He read that sucker up by 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.240 pulling the little chain, getting that diesel engine going. Um. 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.360 Actually that's not exactly how it worked. But he turned 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:58.000 it on and watched as the unpopped popcorn became popped 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.640 popcorn and said ah ha. And then of course he 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:04.760 did the next logical step. He put an egg next 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:08.800 to it and watched it explode. It's true, it's totally 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:10.960 I know it was. I know, it's totally true. That's 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:12.920 the funny thing is it's just amazing that he didn't 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:15.119 immediately like put a grape next to it, and then 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:17.440 maybe an incandescent BOWLB But I mean, all the things 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:19.719 that you see on YouTube of people putting stupid stuff 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:22.080 in the microwave, it's amazing he was the one that 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:24.359 was discovering that it was stupid. Perhaps perhaps he was 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.599 doing it and we just haven't don't have the record 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:28.640 of it. And then and then he did a compact disc. 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:33.480 He invented the compact disk. So no, he did not 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:35.719 invent the compact disc. No, no, no, But it is 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.279 kind of funny because you figure if the microwave. The 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:43.320 microwave emissions from the Magnatron were cooking the candy bar 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.040 and the popcorn and the egg. Probably wasn't doing him 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.200 very much good. But as I used to joke about that, 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.479 but as it turned out, he lived a very long life, 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.520 so well, apparently I didn't do him too much. He 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:57.680 would you would feel the effects pretty quickly, because I mean, 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:01.200 it does heat up tissue very It's it's not like 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:05.039 it just magically goes from from uncooked to cooked. But 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:07.479 we'll get into that. We'll talk about the actual sequence 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:12.000 that happens when microwaves encounter, um, anything that happens to 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.440 have some sort of moisture in it. Well, um Percy Spencer. 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.880 His discovery led Raytheon to release the world's first microwaveve 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:24.719 and in which incredibly compact. Right. Oh yeah, it was 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:27.640 the size of a refrigerator five and a half feet tall. 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:32.320 So yeah, the first microwave was just a little shorter 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:36.600 than my wife. But that sucker was a lot more 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:39.080 powerful than the ones that they have out now because 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.839 that it was it was essentially an industrial microwave machine. 0:05:42.880 --> 0:05:45.120 It was you know, very very early on and very 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:52.760 very expensive cook an entire deer in just five seconds. Wow. Um, anyway, 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:54.800 they were they ran between two thousand and three thousand 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:59.040 dollars yea, and the very first one cost about five grand. 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:02.320 They're very very the very first one five thousand dollars, 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.560 which in ninety seven was about the same price as 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.400 you could get for Poland you are just on a 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:13.800 roll today anyway, it's snowing outside. It's a snow day, 0:06:14.320 --> 0:06:18.640 right anyhow. Um, so you know, this was a little 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:22.520 bit out of the price range of the average American household, right, 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.719 So Raythoon licensed the technology to t Happen. Uh, and 0:06:26.760 --> 0:06:31.080 in nineteen fifty five, T Happen introduced the first domestic 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.159 microwave oven, which was still out of the price range 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:36.680 of the average uh, you know household, um, but you know, 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:41.800 as considerably cheaper than those giant industrial models. Um. And 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:46.480 then uh, Raytheon inquired Amana, so there you go to 0:06:46.560 --> 0:06:50.000 the Amanda radar range. The two names came together and uh, 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:53.599 you know it's in sixty seven, Raytheon did their first 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:58.280 domestic hundred volt microwave oven, which was under five and 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:04.400 of course now they're you know, approximately seven dollars if 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:06.160 you really wanted to. You could go out buy one 0:07:06.240 --> 0:07:07.880 ruin it by putting one of the things you're not 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:10.120 supposed to put in it, and then watch go out 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:13.120 and buy another one, and you're really only out likes. 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:18.560 So not that you should put anything uh weird in 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.280 your microwave. You shouldn't. You really shouldn't. Don't do it. 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:25.160 You could end up burning down the apartment. Besides, it's 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.640 more fun to watch it on YouTube because then you 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:29.840 let somebody else ruin their microwave and you get to 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:31.920 keep yours right, and you also get to hear all 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:36.280 the hilarious comments that go on in the background. Oh 0:07:36.360 --> 0:07:40.920 my god, and wow and this is stupid. Yeah, and 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.800 then you're thinking, and you videotaped it, and not only that, 0:07:43.880 --> 0:07:45.920 but then went to the next step of uploading it 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:49.280 to the internet to share it with everyone. So microwaves cook. 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.400 Oh yeah, let's get what they do using a They 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:56.880 have a hurts or two point five gigga hurts h frequency. Yes, 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.960 these are radio waves, remember so, um, let's that's specifically 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:03.480 the kind of electromagnetic radiation we're talking about in the 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:09.120 radio wave spectrum. And uh, they the thing waves of 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:13.320 this this frequency can be absorbed by water and fat 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.480 and sugar and some other stuff. Yeah, and uh, when 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.920 they do get absorbed by these materials, those materials begin 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:24.480 to generate a lot of atomic motion, which we also 0:08:24.760 --> 0:08:28.560 can refer to as heat. So there you go. The 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:33.960 material absorbs these these waves, which then makes the material 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:39.240 heat up and that can cook a um, well, whatever 0:08:39.240 --> 0:08:41.480 it is you put in there that happens to have water, bad, 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.400 sugar or whatever in it. But it also means that 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:49.080 certain other kinds of materials do not absorb these microwaves 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:53.440 as metal. Metal metal actually reflects it, which is which 0:08:53.480 --> 0:08:56.000 is why you don't stick a fork or some aluminum 0:08:56.040 --> 0:09:00.600 foil in your microwave oven, you know. But you know what, uh, 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:02.720 here's here's the thing is that if you do put 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:05.600 metal in your microwave, like regular metal, not not like 0:09:06.040 --> 0:09:08.960 a foil, but something that has got more substance to it, 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.880 so like a pot or whatever or it can, it's 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:16.640 not necessarily gonna spark um Ith. The sparking comes from 0:09:16.760 --> 0:09:18.679 things that if you were to have it too close 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:20.920 to one of the walls of the microwave, where the 0:09:20.960 --> 0:09:24.800 differential between the metal that's in the whatever it is 0:09:24.840 --> 0:09:26.240 that you put in there and the metal of the 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:29.920 wall that could possibly create a plasma that would end 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:33.199 up sparking. But in most cases, what's really gonna happen 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.239 is the metal is going to just reflect the microwaves 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:39.720 off of whatever it is you're trying to nuke, and 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:43.280 then you're not gonna have a hot dish. It's the 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:45.960 food itself is not gonna get is not gonna absorb 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:48.679 enough microwaves to heat up properly because the metal has 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:52.440 reflected it all. And you know, just to to let 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:54.559 you guys know, I mean, yeah, you're not supposed to 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.080 put metal in the microwave, but it's because it inhibits 0:09:57.520 --> 0:09:59.760 the food from heating up rather than anything else. It's 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:04.080 just like the the screen that's on your microwave door. 0:10:04.360 --> 0:10:06.040 You know, you look through a microwave and you see 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:10.600 that little grid. It's a mesh. It's that's made out 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:14.240 of metal. It's there. It's there to reflect microwaves back 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.200 into the oven so that they don't go shooting out 0:10:17.720 --> 0:10:21.080 and nuking everything in your house. Yes, actually that's uh, 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:24.520 the mesh is actually uh. I'm glad you mentioned that 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.240 because I was interested in the mash because I had 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.240 heard some people talking about why it was mesh and 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:33.200 why it was there. You know, it's very important to 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:36.000 have that mesh on there. Um. But you may wonder 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.280 why it has little holes in it. Well, actually I 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:42.280 um um. Funnily enough, I was at how Everything Works 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:46.520 dot org, which being not really a competitor of ours 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.439 actually sort of. Uh. You may know Lou Bloomfield who 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.839 uh used to be on the Discovery Show. Um some 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:58.280 assembly required. Um. He he wrote a piece. He actually 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:01.920 answered several questions about microwaves and um. One of those 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:04.679 is why the holes are there in the mash. Now, um, 0:11:04.720 --> 0:11:07.480 the holes you need the metal reflective surface on the 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:10.480 door to keep the microwaves inside the oven and from 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.800 you know, coming out of there and nuking your head. 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:18.360 Should you be checking on the condition of your dinner? Um? Well, 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.160 you know, and somebody's gonna bring up the fact that 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:22.160 we're using the word nuke when it's not actually nuclear, 0:11:22.840 --> 0:11:25.920 but that it's it's colloquial. We're using nuke in the 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:30.240 colloquial to microwaves something. Yes, but you need that mesh 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:32.400 there for one to do that. But you also have 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.920 to see the condition of your food or whatever. It 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:39.560 is that you put in their coffee popcorn. Um, and uh, 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:41.440 the holes are in there and you would think, well, 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:44.599 maybe those are gonna let the microwaves out well as uh, 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:48.640 as Luke Bloomfield explains, the microwaves are actually at a 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:51.559 have a larger wavelength than the holes in the mash, 0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.280 so you can see in, but they can't come back out, 0:11:55.480 --> 0:11:58.600 which is really cool that it's and they're actually they can, uh, 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:01.520 the wavelengths being you know, few centimeters to even feet 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:04.240 in size. That's um, that's pretty cool. It's a lot 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:06.200 like the prison I drive by all the time. You 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:10.760 can see in, but they can't get out. Okay, So anyway, 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:14.360 moving on to talking more about how these microwaves heat 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:18.679 up material and cook them because microwaves are absorbed by 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:23.880 this whatever material you've put into the microwave itself. Um, 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:27.240 not necessarily because the foods that you put in there 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.319 to be to have them absorbed, right, Yes, yes, that's 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.400 what I mean. Specifically, I'm not talking about the plates 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:35.880 or whatever, because some of those don't. Yes, okay, So 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.440 the stuff you put in the microwave to actually heat up, 0:12:38.600 --> 0:12:44.040 Mr Pellette, the stuff you nuke in the microwave. Okay, 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:47.520 anything that anything that has these materials that do absorb microwaves. 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:51.000 They do so uniformly right, well, assuming that there's not 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.080 too thick. If if the material is too thick, like 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:56.600 if you were to put an entire chicken breast, for example, 0:12:56.960 --> 0:12:59.560 in there, and the chicken breast was a particularly meat 0:12:59.679 --> 0:13:02.680 each can breast, that might not be the best idea 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.760 because you might not the microwaves might not be able 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:10.079 to penetrate deeply enough to really heat up the chicken 0:13:10.120 --> 0:13:12.800 breast in a uniform way, and then you could end 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:14.880 up with some raw chicken in the middle, and that's 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.520 not good. Raw chicken in the middle, And depending on 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:20.320 how long you cook it, it could be so you know, 0:13:20.400 --> 0:13:22.400 crunchy on the outside that you couldn't even eat it. Yeah, 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:26.360 it'll be in it rubberized. So a normal oven cooks 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:30.000 through uh you know the whole convection conduction thing. Yes, 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:33.800 it's where you're conducting heat from one area to another. 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.080 So you're cooking from the outside in. Heat is being 0:13:37.080 --> 0:13:40.240 applied to the outside of whatever the food is. That 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:43.320 heat slowly moves inside and then eventually you have a 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:47.800 cooked meal. And usually that means the outside is crispier 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:51.840 or as as more well done if you prefer, then 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:55.480 the middle is has has had heat applied to it 0:13:55.520 --> 0:13:58.160 for a longer time and uh and in a more 0:13:58.200 --> 0:14:01.800 direct way. Microwaves accord s don't do this. The material 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:06.120 absorbs the microwaves, and microwaves are being bounced all around 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:09.400 the the oven so that it's hitting. Ideally, it's hitting 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:12.280 the food from pretty much every direction possible at that point, 0:14:12.600 --> 0:14:15.520 but of course it doesn't. Each microwave is a little 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:18.280 bit different and they changes the age, which is why 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.080 they have that carousel in the middle to spin the 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.000 food to try to make sure that everything gets heated. 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.240 People who use older microwaves often have to stop halfway 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:31.160 through and rotate the food and then started again because 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.840 just because the way the microwaves are are are the 0:14:33.880 --> 0:14:37.280 microwave ovens are designed, microwaves do tend to hit one 0:14:37.360 --> 0:14:40.120 side more frequently than another. I mean, it's because they 0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:43.240 go through this little microwave trough and then they come 0:14:43.280 --> 0:14:47.720 into the oven itself. They're not completely randomized, so if 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:50.000 you aren't, if you don't have a carousel in your microwave, 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:52.160 you may have to turn the food once or twice 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:56.720 in order to have it heat evenly. Um and um. Yes, 0:14:57.080 --> 0:15:00.360 I was going to say the the microwaves are hitting 0:15:00.480 --> 0:15:03.160 the food and they're heating it up, but the air 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.800 inside the microwave oven is staying at relatively the same 0:15:06.840 --> 0:15:11.000 temperature because the air is not absorbing the microwaves. Um. 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.240 And this is another something interesting I found by reading 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:18.480 our article about microwave and something site um that uh. 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.080 I always wondered about those little silvery sleeves that you 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:25.600 get with certain kinds of food like hot pockets. Yes, 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.080 not that we're not we're not sponsored by them or anything. 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:31.280 It's not. That's a good example. Without them, I would 0:15:31.320 --> 0:15:34.480 have died in college. But yes, things that you want 0:15:34.560 --> 0:15:36.920 crispy on the outside, because things when I was talking 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.840 about the chicken breast earlier, when I said crispy, it's 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.160 not We're not talking like the crust on a slice 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:45.720 of bread. We're talking rubbery and hard and black in 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:50.160 some cases from carbonization. Um. Now this, if you want 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:53.320 something like that, like something with a uh that has 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.520 been fried to be sort of crispy on the outside, 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.400 you're gonna have to heat up the outside more than 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.040 you heat up the the middle and do that. They 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:08.040 use this foil. That foil is designed to absorb those microwaves, 0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.600 and it heats up faster than the rest of the food, 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.160 which heats at the outside of the food in addition 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.280 to cooking the rest of it, so it makes the 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:17.640 outside crispy. It's kind of it's kind of simulating what 0:16:17.680 --> 0:16:19.600 would happen if you put it in a regular oven. Yes, 0:16:19.600 --> 0:16:23.239 because it's not an approximation. I mean it is an approximation. 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.120 It's not the real thing. Yeah, exactly, you can only 0:16:26.480 --> 0:16:30.920 kind of sort of fake it. Um and uh, let's 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:33.360 let's talk a little bit about what actually is going 0:16:33.400 --> 0:16:35.920 on here when you when you switch your microwave on. 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.760 So what's going on here? You plug your microwave in. Now, 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:45.080 First of all, microwaves have a switch that um will 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.560 only remain shut if you close the door, So the 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:51.400 microwave will not operate while the door is open, because 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:55.120 the circuit is not is not complete until you close 0:16:55.240 --> 0:16:58.560 the door. It's very important for the safety of everybody 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:02.840 on the outside of the microwave. People inside the microwave, 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:06.520 you're kind of screwed. So the door closes, that completes 0:17:06.560 --> 0:17:12.760 the circuit. No no. I. Uh, you close the door, 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:16.880 You've completed the circuit, and then the electricity from your 0:17:17.400 --> 0:17:21.640 from the power outlet comes in through the microwave, and uh, 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:26.040 it goes through first a regular Uh, it goes through 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:29.879 a low voltage UM section of your microwave, which this 0:17:29.960 --> 0:17:34.960 is what powers everything from like uh, your timer, the circuitry, 0:17:35.080 --> 0:17:39.120 everything that the fan that will turn as the microwave 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.560 is going, or the carousel that turns as the microwave 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:47.040 is going, UM, all the low voltage stuff. UH takes that. 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:49.720 That's what hits first. After that, it goes into the 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:55.280 high voltage transformer and this boosts the voltage significantly because 0:17:55.440 --> 0:17:58.560 it turns out the magnetron um not the leader of 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:01.400 the Decepticons. As I will discovered, you were just talking 0:18:01.400 --> 0:18:04.879 about transformer. This is true, um, but yeah, that's what 0:18:04.960 --> 0:18:06.920 confused me. I was like, it goes into a high 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:11.760 voltage transformer and it's called magnetron. Is it a Decepticon? No. Uh. 0:18:11.800 --> 0:18:16.200 The high voltage transformer then feeds energy into the magnetron, 0:18:16.240 --> 0:18:20.880 which is what converts the electricity into radio waves known 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:25.560 as microwaves. Uh. The microwaves are there's a fan that's 0:18:25.600 --> 0:18:27.920 blowing and the reason the fan blows is to kind 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:31.720 of break up the microwaves so that they go in. Uh, 0:18:32.359 --> 0:18:34.800 it randomizes it a little bit so that you don't 0:18:34.840 --> 0:18:37.440 just have a stream of microwaves hitting a very specific 0:18:37.480 --> 0:18:40.000 spot on the in the oven, because otherwise you would 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:42.240 just have one really hot spot and the rest of 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:44.080 it wouldn't be very effective, which would mean you would 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:46.320 have to place food in a very specific point in 0:18:46.359 --> 0:18:50.520 the oven um, which kind of you know, defeats the purpose. 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:57.679 So uh, it goes. The microwaves go through essentially a trough. Really, 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:01.320 it's it's a guidance system. They come into the oven, 0:19:01.359 --> 0:19:03.840 they get randomized a bit, they bounce around until they 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.040 are absorbed by something um or they just fizzle out, 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:11.280 and then then you get your hot, tasty popcorn, which 0:19:11.280 --> 0:19:15.440 I can't stand because it gives me migraines. Yeah, I'm sorry, 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:20.440 but stove cooked popcorn is so much better the microwave popcorn. 0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:22.679 It just is. Yeah. Oh, and although it is a 0:19:22.760 --> 0:19:25.040 quick sack, I agree. I should say that the trough 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:27.560 I'm talking about, it's it's a metal channel. It's actually 0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:34.280 called the wave guide. The name just totally jumped out 0:19:34.280 --> 0:19:35.800 of my brain. While I was talking about it. But 0:19:35.840 --> 0:19:37.560 as I looked on in my notes, I realized, hey, 0:19:37.600 --> 0:19:41.560 I actually did write that down wave guide and so yeah, 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:45.639 I'm Steve. Will be your wave guide today. Right on 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:48.359 your left you will see the microwaves. Actually you won't 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:53.679 because it's outside the range of visible light. Yeah, and uh, 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.800 if you want to know how magnetron's work, wow, this 0:19:56.880 --> 0:19:59.960 gets this gets pretty complicated. Yeah, you know, I didn't 0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:03.400 into that in my research. So they are made up 0:20:03.480 --> 0:20:07.119 of an anode, a cathode, a filament, and a couple 0:20:07.119 --> 0:20:10.400 of magnets and um. The idea here is that you're 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:13.120 generating a flow of electrons that go from the cathode 0:20:13.119 --> 0:20:16.399 to the anode. You use the magnets to alter the 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:19.280 path of the electrons so that they spin in a 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:21.520 Instead of going in a straight line, they go in 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:24.280 a curve, and this curve gets tight and they start spinning. 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:30.240 This is what generates the radio frequencies, the microwaves. And um, 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.520 it's you know, I've I've read this description three or 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:35.280 four times and then I realized, you know what we 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.240 need to do send an email to stuff from the 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.800 science lab and have them explain how magnetrons work because 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.879 I think it's more science than tech at this point. Um, 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:49.720 it's actually pretty cool. There's some great illustrations on the 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.520 web in various places that show you what the anode 0:20:52.520 --> 0:20:56.040 and the cathode look like. Um, the anode actually has 0:20:56.160 --> 0:21:00.520 chambers in it. Uh. And I read the technical description, 0:21:00.720 --> 0:21:02.840 like I said, three or four times, and I'm still 0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:06.320 not entirely certain exactly what the mechanics are or you know, 0:21:06.440 --> 0:21:09.680 the physics are behind this. But yeah, you uh, you 0:21:09.720 --> 0:21:12.760 pump the high voltage through and uh, you generate the 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:16.560 electron flow. The magnets alter the the path of the electrons. 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:20.119 That's what creates the radio frequencies, which will eventually cook 0:21:20.200 --> 0:21:22.240 whatever it is, you know, your Rama noodles or whatever 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:24.040 that you're thrown in there. I've thrown out a lot 0:21:24.119 --> 0:21:28.239 of brand names. Yeah, you know today, I didn't mean 0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:32.680 to do that. Well again, I'm thinking, like I don't. 0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:35.320 I don't use microwave ovens as often as I used to. 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:37.360 If I do use microwave oven it's to heat up 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:42.000 something that I cooked in a more conventional method. Um. 0:21:42.040 --> 0:21:45.639 Mostly because the foods that tend to come design specifically 0:21:45.640 --> 0:21:48.840 for microwaves also don't tend to be very healthy, and 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:52.080 I'm trying to eat healthier now because I want to 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:56.520 last a nice long time to to hunt your every 0:21:56.520 --> 0:22:02.040 waking moment. You know, I've seen green friendly websites talk 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:06.080 about using microwave ovens because they use less energy, they 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:09.800 are very efficient, um than conventional ovens, so you know 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:13.320 there is an advantage in that. That is true. Um, However, 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:17.160 I can't stand what they do to bread. Yeah, well 0:22:17.200 --> 0:22:18.960 I can eat this for the next two seconds, so 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:20.919 I guess we can talk very quickly about some of 0:22:20.920 --> 0:22:23.520 the stuff that you shouldn't put in a microwave. Um. 0:22:23.600 --> 0:22:27.280 And honestly, people don't put this stuff in a microwave. Um. 0:22:27.480 --> 0:22:29.760 If if it doesn't hurt you, it will probably hurt 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:32.400 your microwave. Yeah, if nothing else, you may end up 0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:36.120 damaging your microwave, which is not gonna win you any 0:22:36.160 --> 0:22:39.320 points in any household. But damaging yourself is certainly not 0:22:39.359 --> 0:22:42.119 good either, so please don't. So, for instance, have you 0:22:42.160 --> 0:22:45.200 seen any videos of someone who's cut a grape almost 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:48.160 all the way in half and then microwaved it? Um? 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:51.040 You know no, But I actually read a one of 0:22:51.040 --> 0:22:55.520 those questions by Mr Bloomfield. Um. Actually probably Dr Bloomfield. 0:22:55.680 --> 0:22:58.640