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 Microwave Cooking - Microwave cooking advice and microwave recipes for all food types. Microwave history information, dangers and benefits of microwave cooking. Information on selected microwave technologies companies.
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Four experiments that can be performed using any microwave oven, including; marshmallow, compact disk, wire wool and light bulb. Do not try these at home! Includes links to other experiemnts.
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Microwave Experiments
Warning: Do not attempt to try these experiments at home.
Marshmallow
Place a marshmallow inside the microwave.
Turn on the microwave in 10-second bursts.
Notice that it expands. Then 'melts.' Then turns brown.
The microwaves heat the marshmallow causing the air trapped inside to expand.
The heating eventually melts the marshmallow releasing the air.
The temperature rises to the point where the sugar in the marshmallow caramelizes and becomes brown.
Compact Disk
Note: this will destroy the CD.
Place the compact disk inside the microwave.
Turn the microwave on for two seconds or so. Notice the sparks across the disk.
Remove the disk from the microwave and hold it up against the light, notice the pattern of lightning like clear regions in the metal of the CD.
The microwaves build up electric charges on the metal of the CD. When the charges build a high enough voltage, an electric discharge takes place, which vaporizes the metal
on the CD leaving behind a visible lightning bolt track. The pattern has a size about one-half of a microwave wavelength. It often follows a radial and tangential pattern.
Steel Wool
Put a ball of steel wool onto a glass plate in the microwave.
Turn on the microwave for 30 seconds.
The steel wool will be laced by electric arcs and will burn.
The smoke from the burning steel wool will also absorb microwaves so you will create a glowing ball of incandescent gas, similar to reports of ball lightning.
Some sparks may be seen from the interaction of the microwaves and the steel wool.
However, the steel wool burns as if it was burnt normally in the open.
Light Bulb
Place a light bulb in the microwave.
Turn on the microwave in two-second bursts.
Notice that the light bulb glows brightly.
The microwave delivers a kilowatt of energy to the light bulb.
The light bulb is designed to handle only 100 Watts.
The filament acts as an antenna giving off sparks and heating to incandescence.
Eventually the high energy will melt the glass bulb.
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Microwaving Books - If tiny critters and moulds have infested your books, you can kill them in the microwave. (Check for tinypinholes in the paper, which is a sign of insect infestation that could spread.)
 Microwave Gun - With a high voltage transformer, magnetron, diode and big capacitor you can make a microwave gun. The gun itself consumes about 1kW of power.
 Microwave Picture - Microwaves explained, information on the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) and links to NASA pages for further reading, includes diagrams and sample microwave pictures.
 Microwave Radiation - Microwave radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range of 300 MHz - 300 gigahertz(GHz). Microwave Radiation pictures and links for further information.
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