WEBVTT - The Microwave, Part 1 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:09.720 Welcome to Invention, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.320 welcome to Invention. My name is Robert Lamb, and I'm 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:15.960 Joe McCormick. And when are people going to be listening 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:18.360 to this? Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet, right, so you're not 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:21.680 heating up leftovers for a week heating up leftovers, Joe. No, 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.880 I'm hoping that people will be inspired by this look 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.520 at the microwave and they will cook their entire turkey 0:00:27.600 --> 0:00:30.360 in there. That is a horrible idea. I don't do it. 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:32.040 I was just looking it up and there you can 0:00:32.080 --> 0:00:37.000 find some uh semi convincing recipes online for how to 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.879 cook your entire Thanksgiving turkey in a microwave oven, in 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:43.320 a dirty microwave with a little splatter stains, a nice 0:00:43.360 --> 0:00:47.520 clean microwave for a just a wonderful Thanksgiving. Does butter 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:49.639 Ball sell a turkey that comes with its own hot 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:53.840 pocket style sleeve to crisp up the exterior? I don't know. 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:57.000 I don't know about that. But yes, we're gonna be 0:00:57.040 --> 0:01:01.000 talking about the microwave oven here on Invention. And the 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.040 whole reason that we're launching this in November is because, yeah, 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:07.880 this is a month that is typically associated with food 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:10.520 and feasts, and so we've been looking at some food 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.240 based innovations, and really the microwave is is one of 0:01:14.280 --> 0:01:17.360 the big ones, uh, in terms of inventions that have 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:20.839 come along in the you know, the last hundred years 0:01:20.959 --> 0:01:23.720 and have just changed the way that we think about 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:27.679 the household kitchen totally. Uh. Now, Robert, you mentioned there 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:31.520 are many common mishaps that happened with the microwave, and 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:33.920 and one of the ones I identify with the most 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:36.920 is forgetting that I can't just put a stick of 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:40.000 butter in the microwave and a container to melt the butter. 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.920 This happens about once a year where I need, like 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:46.559 suddenly I'm making pancakes for house guests or something something 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:48.400 I don't do very often. I'm like, I'll just melt 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.840 the butter in the microwave. I think maybe it's happened 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:52.840 for the last time because I'm talking about it out 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:56.360 loud now, But every time it explodes inside the microwave 0:01:56.400 --> 0:01:58.680 and I got to clean up butter everywhere for ten 0:01:58.800 --> 0:02:01.600 minutes or however long. Yeah, the stick of butter explosion 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:05.040 is is is something that's very hard to miss. Uh. 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:07.360 You know the sound when you hear it, and then 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.760 you think, oh crap, I I did it again. I'm 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:12.640 I have a pretty good system for the times I 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:15.959 need to have melted butter for making pancakes or pop 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:19.480 popovers or something. And I'll take the butter and then 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:22.720 I'll slice it up into smaller pieces, and then I'll 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:26.240 microwave those small pieces of butter in a bowl with 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:29.760 a cover for her, you know, ten fifteen seconds something 0:02:29.800 --> 0:02:31.360 like that, and if they need more, I'll give him 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:34.600 another blast. But sometimes I get a little cocky and 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.519 I either forget to cover it, or I don't cut 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:37.840 it up as much or give it a little too 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.600 much time, and then once more, unexplosion, everything is covered 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:43.639 in butter. And of course there are some other mishaps 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:45.800 that occur from time to time. We've all attempted to 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.240 reheat some leftovers or cook a microwave meal, and part 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:52.080 of it will be super hot and part of it 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:56.960 will be almost ice cold. Also, gold leaf, say on 0:02:57.040 --> 0:03:01.160 your grandmother's fine china, will turn blue in the microwave oven. 0:03:01.480 --> 0:03:04.480 And then of course we've all either burnt popcorn or 0:03:04.520 --> 0:03:07.880 cremated a fish stick or something like that. While attempting 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:10.080 to heat something up in the microwave. Generally this is 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:14.440 user air. But but I think the big take home 0:03:14.520 --> 0:03:16.720 here is that these are the times when the microwave 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.519 oven disappoints us and we take a few moments to 0:03:19.600 --> 0:03:22.320 gripe about our microwave oven. But for the most part, 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.200 the microwave oven works exceedingly well at the things that 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.080 it's good at. It works so well that it is 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.440 just a part. It's a part of our kitchen, something 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:34.840 we just completely take for granted, being able to reheat 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:39.800 foods that we cooked the night before, to cook microwave dinners, 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.400 or certainly, you know, if you're making pancakes or whatnot, 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.720 and you're not getting too cocky with your butter away 0:03:44.760 --> 0:03:47.400 to heat something that is going to be utilized in 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:50.760 a recipe for something else that may involve your conventional 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:54.040 or you know, your gas oven, etcetera. Right, I am. 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:56.920 I cook a lot in the house, and sometimes I 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.960 can be kind of snobby about the way certain foods 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:01.520 are prepared. So you might think, well, then you don't 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:03.640 use the microwave much, But no, I use the microwave 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:05.920 all the time, and there's tons of stuff that's perfectly 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.920 good for. I would not recommend cooking your Thanksgiving turkey 0:04:08.920 --> 0:04:11.840 in the microwave. It's uh, it's probably not going to 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.080 work out very well. The outside is not gonna look 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:17.080 very appetizing, It'll end up extremely dry, and you're not 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.479 going to get very much browning or whatever on the skin. 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.040 Has to do with the way the microwave cooks things 0:04:22.120 --> 0:04:24.360 that it's not good for. Stuff like that. It's not 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:28.160 good for like big meat roasts and stuff. But for say, uh, 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.920 thawing out frozen liquid based things. You know you've got 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.920 frozen stock or soup or something like that, it's fantastic, right. Uh. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:39.960 Certainly popcorn is a great example. You need to microwave popcorn. 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:43.680 There's no better way heat up a little water, et cetera. Now, 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.680 when it comes to heating up water, though, there there's 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:49.160 another thing where there can be dangerous associated with with 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.479 the way that it heats up food. Like uh, in 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:54.240 certain water containers, you can sometimes get the splash up, 0:04:54.279 --> 0:04:56.320 you know, the rapid boil when you dip a spoon 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:58.720 into water that you've heated up in the microwave. If 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.440 there are no nucleation points in the water as it 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.479 heats up for bubbles to form, so it can gets 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.600 kind of superheated but without boiling. Uh So, yeah, that's 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:09.880 a little thing you might have often seen people like 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:12.599 putting a little coffee stir or stick or something is 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:16.120 some kind of non metal spoon into water as they 0:05:16.120 --> 0:05:18.520 heat it up, and that's just to help create nucleation 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.039 points for bubbles to form so that the water can 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:24.400 boil properly while it's being heated. Interesting, so we're gonna 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.400 take our typical approach here to an invention then, in 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:29.839 this case, it's the invention of the microwave oven. Before 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.560 we can really appreciate what the microwave oven changes, we 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.800 have to talk about what came before. And you know, 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:38.840 given that this is a twentieth century invention, a lot 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:43.400 came before. Everything else in human culinary history came before. 0:05:44.240 --> 0:05:47.880 And obviously that means many different forms of oven came first, 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:53.360 earth ovens, ceramic ovens, gas ovens, masonry ovens, toaster ovens, 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:58.159 steam ovens, convection ovens, rotary ovens. At heart, an oven 0:05:58.279 --> 0:06:01.200 of any sort is just simply quote, a chamber used 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.760 for baking, heating, or drying. That's you're just standard Webster's 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:09.200 definition there, and most of these utilized fire or an 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:13.680 electric heating element, you know, something that will heat the 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.080 chamber and therefore heat the food. Connecting to a recent episode, 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:19.360 I wonder if anybody ever made a setup where you 0:06:19.400 --> 0:06:22.599 had a turnspit dog to rotate the plate inside the 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:25.560 microave as it goes around. Well, you gotta rotate that 0:06:25.600 --> 0:06:28.479 plate one way or another. But the microwave oven the 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.520 main way it's different. Uh, you know, regardless of how 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.680 neat that little rotating tray happens to be, the main 0:06:34.880 --> 0:06:37.839 reason it's different is because it heats food by exposing 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:42.920 the food to electro magnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:45.920 That's right now, we're gonna be talking a good bit 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:50.159 in these microwave episodes about anti microwave panic. You know, 0:06:50.520 --> 0:06:53.599 the terror some people feel at the idea of a 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:56.960 microwave or radiating their food like it's a nuclear test 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.920 site in your kitchen. You shouldn't let the word radiat 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:04.320 shan their contribute to this kind of anti microwave panic. Uh. 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:07.440 Most radiation, of course, is harmless to you. The light 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.840 coming out of your desk lamp is radiation, and so 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.800 in this vein to further demystify the magic of the 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.480 microwave cooking box, I think it might be worth a 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.440 very quick detour to explain a bit of the underlying 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:24.080 physics here as simply as possible. So, electromagnetic radiation is 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:28.000 the same type of radiation as radio waves, infrared and 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.720 visible light UV radiation, X rays, and gamma rays. It's 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.000 all the same stuff. It's all photons. What varies to 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:38.480 make the difference between all of these is the frequency, 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:42.720 meaning how fast the waves cycle or oscillate, which can 0:07:42.800 --> 0:07:45.160 also be expressed. The same thing can be expressed in 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:49.560 terms of wave length. Faster oscillating waves are shorter, Slower 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:53.760 oscillating waves are longer, and despite the name, microwaves are 0:07:53.760 --> 0:07:58.360 actually relatively long low frequency waves. They're called micro waves 0:07:58.600 --> 0:08:01.960 because their wavelength is short compared to radio waves, but 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:05.120 microwaves are long compared to pretty much everything else. And 0:08:05.160 --> 0:08:08.320 even that appellation sort of it helps place them in 0:08:08.320 --> 0:08:11.840 a historical context, right because when you when you see 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:16.000 microwave consciousness emerging among physicists, it's sort of like as 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:18.120 another part of what is generally thought of as the 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:22.600 radio frequency. Now the really dangerous types of radiation we 0:08:22.680 --> 0:08:25.720 think of like X rays and gamma rays, the kinds 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:29.320 that cause cancer and radiation poisoning and such. These have 0:08:29.600 --> 0:08:34.880 much shorter wavelengths and faster oscillations. Electromagnetic radiation in the 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.440 microwave range actually has a lower frequency than visible light 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.520 that we see with our eyes. Microwaves are defined as 0:08:41.559 --> 0:08:45.679 electromagnetic waves at a frequency greater than three hundred megaherts, 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.640 which is three hundred million waves per second, and less 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.800 than three hundred giga hurts, which is three hundred billion 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.720 waves per second. Uh. And this equates two wavelengths between 0:08:56.720 --> 0:08:59.560 about one meter and one millimeter. So when you're trying 0:08:59.600 --> 0:09:03.360 to pick sure in microwaves, of course they're invisible, but 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:05.560 you can think of them as waves that are basically 0:09:05.600 --> 0:09:07.760 on the human scale. You could measure them with a 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.000 ruler or a tape measure. Yeah, I've frequently seen them 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:13.719 described as being about the length of a of a toothbrush. 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.800 That's certainly within there. Yeah, between the meter and millimeter scale. 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.199 I mean, almost everything that's understand that not understandable, but 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.360 everything that's you know, reasonable to measure with your arms 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:27.360 or hands is sort of in the microwave scale. So 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:31.920 how does a microwave oven generate microwaves. Well, it's through 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:37.160 the use of this all important electrical device called a magnetron. Really, 0:09:37.240 --> 0:09:40.680 the main thing that operates your microwave oven is a 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:43.240 little device that you can hold in your hand. I'm 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:45.440 not going to try to go into super deep detail 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:48.480 about everything about all the inner workings of the magnetron. 0:09:48.520 --> 0:09:50.920 It's especially hard to do without visual aids, but I'll 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.240 try to give you the simple version. So, a magnetron 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.640 is a device for turning electric current like you get 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:01.200 out of the wall socket into microwave rate ation. And 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:04.480 it consists of a vacuum tube made out of a metal, 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:08.280 often something like copper, with a conductive filament in the 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:12.760 middle of that tube. And then you'll have large permanent magnets, 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.680 usually doughnut shaped, on each end of the tube. And 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.880 as voltage is applied to the filament that runs through 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.640 the middle of this vacuum tube, the filament the currents 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:26.400 running through it and it gets incredibly hot, and then 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:30.199 electrons start to fly off of this negatively charged hot 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:34.560 filament toward the walls of the positively charged tube and 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.320 there's so there's an electric field in the vacuum in 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.480 between this filament in the middle of the tube and 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.160 the walls of the tube. But the magnets at each 0:10:42.280 --> 0:10:45.439 end of the tube help shape that flow of electrons 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:48.960 through that vacuum in something kind of like a spiral 0:10:49.080 --> 0:10:53.280 or pinwheel shape. And then meanwhile, the metal inner surface 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:57.120 of the tube contains little pockets or cavities, and it's 0:10:57.160 --> 0:11:00.640 these cavities that are so important in creating the microwaves. 0:11:00.679 --> 0:11:04.760 The spiraling flow of electrons from the through the vacuum 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:08.520 tube rapidly passes over the mouths of those cavities, and 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.760 it results in vibration of electrons that creates the electromagnetic 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:16.160 radiation in the microwave spectrum. Uh. So this is how 0:11:16.160 --> 0:11:19.319 the waves are created. They're they're emitted by these electrons 0:11:19.360 --> 0:11:22.760 as they're like changing energy states. Uh. These microwaves are 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:25.760 projected off the end of an antenna and guided into 0:11:25.800 --> 0:11:28.800 the metal lined inter cage of the oven, where they 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:32.080 reflect around. They bounce around inside this and they heat 0:11:32.120 --> 0:11:35.600 the food up. So we've got electromagnetic waves bouncing around, 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:38.840 But how does that actually cook the food. The answer 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:45.480 is that almost all foods contain polar molecules. Primarily water molecules, 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.760 and what that means is that ht H two O 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:53.280 is slightly positively charged at one end and slightly negatively 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.599 charged at the other end. And so as these microwaves 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:01.200 passed by these water molecules, these polar molecules, the molecules 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:06.040 try to rotate to align their poles with the direction 0:12:06.160 --> 0:12:10.360 of the electric field produced by each wave. But being waves, 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:13.439 of course, they are rapidly oscillating the direction of that 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:16.840 field back and forth. At two point four gigaherts. These 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:21.160 microwaves passed by billions of times per second, and so 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:25.040 the rapid rotating back and forth of the water molecules 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:28.559 sort of jostles them all around. As they get jostled 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:33.240 around trying to align themselves with this rapidly alternating field. 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:37.120 This manifests is heat. Rapid vibration of molecules, of course, 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:39.920 is heat. Now we should note that some varieties of 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:44.040 microwave oven may introduce additional heating sources, but what we're 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:47.520 talking about here is the standard microwave oven. Are there 0:12:47.559 --> 0:12:50.959 like microwaves that have fires inside would be great? Um, well, 0:12:50.960 --> 0:12:55.120 they are microwaves that basically involve a heating element and addition, Yeah, 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:57.760 but but but this is the standard. No gas, no 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:02.479 heating element, no fire, just invisible waves agitating water molecules 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:06.160 causing them to vibrate rapidly producing heat. Uh. And this 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:09.200 is why most containers don't you know, microwave safe containers 0:13:09.200 --> 0:13:11.960 don't heat up at least, you know, they don't heat 0:13:12.000 --> 0:13:14.200 up due to the microwave itself. The food itself may 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:17.720 heat up the dish, etcetera. But the oven does this rapidly. 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:21.559 The oven also does this without requiring any sort of preheating. 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.560 And it's not going to warm up your kitchen on 0:13:23.600 --> 0:13:26.000 a hot day, or at least not like a four 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.200 and fifty degree oven will. I mean, it's the basic 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:32.800 electronic device will heat your room a little bit, right, 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:34.600 I mean the standard oven you've got to think about. 0:13:34.640 --> 0:13:37.839 This has to work by heating up the air inside it. 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:40.200 In a microwave, that doesn't matter. In fact, the air 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:43.360 inside a microwave doesn't even get hot except in whatever 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:47.040 way it's like exposed to steam and stuff. Right. And uh, 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.560 and also we'll come back to this again. You already 0:13:49.600 --> 0:13:52.000 touched on a little bit. But the cooking chamber itself 0:13:52.040 --> 0:13:55.520 is surrounded by something like a Faraday cage to prevent 0:13:55.679 --> 0:13:58.600 the microwaves from escaping. They're bouncing around in there. They 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:02.319 can't get out. Even in the viewing panel, as everyone's 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:05.240 probably noticed, is covered with a mesh that allows light 0:14:05.320 --> 0:14:08.240 to pass through, but not the microwaves. Yeah, and that's 0:14:08.320 --> 0:14:11.240 very important. So you can look through because visible light 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.400 is small enough of a wavelength to penetrate that mesh, 0:14:14.440 --> 0:14:17.400 but the microwaves are too long to penetrate the mesh. 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.440 They're stuck inside. And now there might be in modern 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:24.360 microwaves a tiny amount of microwave leakage. This is the 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:26.560 thing that's been we'll talk about this more, probably in 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.400 the next episode, but there have been concerns throughout the 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.200 history of microwave design about how much microwaves can leak 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.680 out of the oven. Modern microwaves are generally very safe. 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.440 They keep almost entirely contained. That which leaks out is 0:14:41.480 --> 0:14:45.440 not enough to cook too much. So that's the microwave 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:48.120 oven in a nutshell. The next step is going to 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:51.360 be for us to look at the inventor of the 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:54.240 microwave oven. We're gonna take a quick break, but we'll 0:14:54.280 --> 0:15:02.320 be right back. Hey, everybody, audible has the world's largest 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:06.240 selection of audio books and audio entertainment, including Audible originals, 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:11.040 Audible originals or stories created exclusively for audio, including documentaries, 0:15:11.160 --> 0:15:14.440 exclusive audio books, and scripted shows that you can't hear 0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.200 anywhere else. Audible keeps you informed, inspired and entertained. You'll 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:21.320 finish more stories when you listen with Audible, and always 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.480 be part of the conversation. With the convenient Audible app, 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:28.120 you can listen anytime, anywhere and on any device mobile, 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:32.320 Alexa enabled, Bluetooth, and more. Listen at the gym, while shopping, 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:35.120 in the car, while traveling. Anytime you can't read, you 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:38.720 can listen with Audible, and Audible members get more than 0:15:38.760 --> 0:15:41.240 ever before. That's right. Every month, you can choose one 0:15:41.280 --> 0:15:44.560 audiobook regardless of price, as well as two Audible originals 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:48.040 from a fresh selection. Members stay motivated and inspired with 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.600 unlimited access to exclusive guided fitness and meditation programs. Sign 0:15:52.640 --> 0:15:55.000 up for free updates from The New York Times, The 0:15:55.000 --> 0:15:58.800 Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, all delivered daily to the app. 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:02.200 Audible members can so easily exchange any title they don't 0:16:02.200 --> 0:16:04.800 love at any time, and members keep their library of 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:08.200 listens forever even if they cancel, so start a thirty 0:16:08.280 --> 0:16:10.960 day trial and choose one audio book plus two Audible 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:15.520 originals absolutely free. That's right. Start listening with a thirty 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:18.320 day Audible trial. You can choose one audio book and 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:22.640 to audio Audible originals absolutely free. Visit audible dot com 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.880 slash invention that's I N V E N T I 0:16:25.960 --> 0:16:29.640 O in or text invention to five hundred five hundred. 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.520 You know, Robert, I just downloaded Doctor Sleep to listen 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:34.840 to on Audible. I'm very excited to get into that. 0:16:35.440 --> 0:16:38.160 Nice choice for some new Stephen King. Yeah, last year, 0:16:38.200 --> 0:16:40.240 I think around this time I listened to The Stand 0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.400 the long version on Audible and it was it was 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:46.480 like something like fifty hours, but it was great. Now, 0:16:46.520 --> 0:16:50.120 I always really enjoy revisiting the works of Karl Sagan, 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.360 and so this is is super exciting that there's just 0:16:52.400 --> 0:16:56.200 so much Carl Sagan content on Audible. So I highly 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:59.520 recommend choosing any of those books. So start listening with 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.040 the third day Audible trial. Choose one audiobook and two 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:07.200 Audible originals absolutely free. Visit A U D I B 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:11.680 L E dot com slash invention or text Invention to 0:17:11.960 --> 0:17:15.400 five hundred five hundred. That's five zero zero dash five 0:17:15.520 --> 0:17:18.760 zero zero and we're back. So it's time to talk 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:22.760 about the inventor of the microwave. That's right, we're talking 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:28.439 about Percy Spencer, who lived eight through nineteen seventy. Uh. 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:31.120 This is one of those you know, we we often 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.560 find these interesting stories, human stories of the inventors that 0:17:34.560 --> 0:17:38.040 are wrapped up in these inventions, and this is certainly 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:42.119 one of the more interesting tales, interesting origin stories of 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:45.880 an inventor. Uh. So, basically a rags to rich's tail. 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:50.439 So he had a really rough early life. Uh. Percy 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:54.080 lost his father eighteen months after his birth, was raised 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:56.800 by his uncle and aunt, and then his uncle died 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.000 when he was seven, and he had to quit grammar 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:02.600 school to earned money to help support himself and his aunt. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:07.040 He worked at a spool mill from age twelve through sixteen, 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:10.719 but he showed an early knack for electrical work, so 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:13.240 he joined the navy at age eighteen and got into 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:18.679 wireless communication, namely radio. He taught himself numerous mathematical and 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.240 scientific subjects just you know, consuming the books on his own, 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:25.800 so he was largely self taught. Um. And then he 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:31.159 ends up joining the Raytheon Company in nine Now If 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.040 you're familiar with the Raytheon company, you you're probably thinking, oh, 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:38.160 this is this is the enormous uh like defense contractor 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.840 and you know, an industrial company, uh, you know, major player. 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:46.240 But at the time when when when Spencer joined Raytheon, 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:49.800 he became its fifth employee. Wow, so he really got 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:51.960 in on the ground floor here. But this would have 0:18:52.000 --> 0:18:55.120 been a time when if you were working in uh 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:59.439 in like wireless communication, this was cutting edge stuff and 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:03.040 that would have been highly relevant, not just wireless communication, 0:19:03.080 --> 0:19:06.960 but like electromagnetic imaging and stuff would have been extremely 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:11.840 valuable to say international war efforts in national defense, that's right, 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:13.600 and and that was a lot of the work that 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.320 was going on with Raytheon at the time. UM he 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.359 was extremely successful within the company. He helped develop the 0:19:19.400 --> 0:19:24.320 first gaseous rectifier two, which was essential for household radio technology, 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:25.960 and over the course of his career he came to 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:29.240 hold more than a hundred and thirty patents, including patents 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:34.080 for the application of microwave energy to medical uh diathermy, 0:19:34.160 --> 0:19:36.040 which is the production of heat and a part of 0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:40.200 the body to stimulate to circulation, relief pain, destroy unhealthy tissue, 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:44.800 or to clock bleeding vessels. And during this time, Raytheon 0:19:44.920 --> 0:19:48.159 grew enormously as well, uh, you know, becoming the the 0:19:48.359 --> 0:19:52.720 major US defense contractor that we know today. Um, but 0:19:53.359 --> 0:19:54.880 you can, you can. You can look up a lot 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:59.080 of his patents, a lot of Spencer's patents, and uh 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:01.600 they were up you know, for a variety of highly 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:06.040 technical things such as electrical space discharge device or high 0:20:06.080 --> 0:20:11.080 efficiency magnetron, the magnetron we mentioned already, uh, as well 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:14.600 as the likes of For instance, he obtained a two 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:19.199 patent for an improved automobile cigarette lighter, UH, one that 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:22.240 indicates by touch when the element will be hot enough 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:26.160 to light something. Here's a quote from it. An object 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.800 of this invention, therefore, is to produce a cigarette lighter 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:32.199 which will give the operator a TecTile indication at the 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:35.160 time when the igniting element of the lighter reaches its 0:20:35.200 --> 0:20:37.800 proper temperature. And this could have saved me some pain 0:20:37.840 --> 0:20:41.480 in the past. While I was telling you earlier today 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:44.840 about a time when years ago, I was like twenty 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:46.639 years old or something, and I was just sitting in 0:20:46.640 --> 0:20:49.280 my car waiting somewhere one time, and I'd never really 0:20:49.400 --> 0:20:51.240 used the cigarette lighter in my car. I was like, 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:54.040 I wonder if it works, does it get hot? Because 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:55.919 my car was old. So I pressed it in and 0:20:55.920 --> 0:20:57.600 then I pulled it out and I was like, is 0:20:57.640 --> 0:20:59.520 it hot? It doesn't look hot, and I pressed my 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:02.280 thumb to it to find out. And that was a 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:04.960 bad day. Well see if that, if this invention had 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:08.400 really taken off, and he could have saved you some time. Uh, 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:12.200 But Spencer is best known for his invention for Raytheon 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:15.560 of the microwave oven um, and most of these patents 0:21:15.600 --> 0:21:16.919 that you can look at, you can see that they 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:20.160 are there. You know, they're filed through, filed by Raytheon 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:22.760 with his name on it. Now you might be asking, 0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:25.600 wait a minute, why would Raytheon be concerned with coming 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:28.520 up with a new method for cooking food? Right? That 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:31.440 doesn't really seem to fit within their their niche, right. 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:33.920 But in fact, they were not looking for a new 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:36.879 way to create food, right. They were they were looking 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:41.480 into the communication aspects of of of these waves and 0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:45.600 the microwaves. And the story goes that Spencer was working 0:21:45.600 --> 0:21:48.359 in the lab on a radar set and he noticed 0:21:48.400 --> 0:21:52.119 that the candy bar in his pocket had melted, and uh, 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:54.040 you know, others had observed this sort of thing in 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:57.639 the past already. He was not the first individual to 0:21:57.840 --> 0:22:02.200 notice that microwaves could, say, melt food or heat up food, 0:22:02.280 --> 0:22:05.600 or heat up you know, some sort of organic material. 0:22:06.240 --> 0:22:09.359 But he was the first to investigate the matter, and 0:22:09.359 --> 0:22:14.640 he ended up experimenting with different foods, including popcorn, including eggs. Yeah, 0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:16.640 I read that there was a story where he made 0:22:16.640 --> 0:22:21.200 an egg explode on somebody's face. Microwaves, um, you know, yeah, 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:23.719