INTRODUCTION?

The microwave oven is a household appliance that has revolutionized modern home kitchens. It
is designed to cook food quickly by using special electromagnetic radiation that heats objects
from within. It is designed and primarily used to quickly heat foods, and is most convenient for
otherwise time-consuming tasks such as melting butter or heating water. Unlike traditional
ovens, microwaves cook food from the inside rather than from the outside. While it was
originally used in commercial kitchens, it is now most popular in homes and the workplace.

And the property or what we can say a magic which helps us to achieve this is none other than is
microwaves…And before moving on it what it is and how it works, we should go for “how do
we find this magic”

Who invented the microwave oven?

Like many great inventions, microwave ovens were an accidental discovery. Back in the 1950s,
American electrical engineer Percy Spencer (1894–1970) was carrying out some experiments
with a magnetron at the Raytheon Manufacturing Company where he worked. At that time, the
main use for magnetrons was in radar: a way of using radio waves to
help airplanes and ships find their way around in poor weather or darkness.

One day, Percy Spencer had a chocolate bar in his pocket when he switched on the magnetron.
To his surprise, the bar quickly melted because of the heat the magnetron generated. This gave
him the idea that a magnetron might be used to cook food. After successfully cooking some
popcorn, he realized he could develop a microwave oven for cooking all types of food. In one of
his patent which was known by the name of Method of Treating Foodstuffs”, he explained

"...by employing wavelengths falling in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum...
By so doing, the wavelength of the energy becomes comparable to the average dimension of the
foodstuff to be cooked, and as a result, the heat generated in the foodstuff becomes intense, the
energy expended becomes a minimum, and the entire process becomes efficient and
commercially feasible."

Microwave oven

Microwave ovens are so quick and efficient because they channel heat energy directly to
the molecules (tiny particles) inside food. Microwaves heat food like the sun heats wer face—
by radiation.
A microwave is much like the electromagnetic waves that zap through the air
from TV and radio transmitters. It's an invisible up-and-down pattern
of electricity and magnetism that races through the air at the speed of light (300,000 km or
186,000 miles per second). While radio waves can be very long indeed (some measure tens of
kilometers or miles between one wave crest and the next), they can also be tiny: microwaves are
effectively the shortest radio waves—and the microwaves that cook food in oven are just 12 cm
(roughly 5 inches) long.

WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE A MICROWAVE OVEN

A microwave works by sending electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 2.24 gigahertz and a

wavelength of 12.2 centimeters through food. This in turn causes the water molecules in the food
to vibrate, and the resulting friction with other water molecules causes it to heat up. This is how
food cooks from the inside in a microwave. It is also why frozen food and dry food (such as rice)
doesn’t cook as efficiently: frozen moisture and objects lacking in moisture do not respond
quickly or uniformly to microwave radiation. To ensure that food cooks more evenly, many
microwave ovens feature a rotating plate to turn the food around during cooking.

To achieve this goal how should we design a MICROWAVE Oven …For that we should discuss
the components of the microwave and their working.

COMPONENTS OF MICROWAVE
A component called the magnetron generates microwaves from electricity inside the microwave
oven. To power the magnetron, a transformer converts the standard household electricity from a
wall socket of 120 volts to about 4,000 volts or higher. The voltage heats a filament at the center
of the magnetron, boiling off electrons.

Electrons are emitted as the filament heats up.engineerguyThe electrons would rush out in
straight line toward an anode, or positive terminal, that surrounds the filament, but two ring
magnets above and below the anode bend the electrons back toward the filament and they fly
around in a circular path.
Magnets bend the electrons back toward the filament in a curved path. Microwaves are created as
the electrons whip past cavities, or openings, in the anode.
Cavities in the ring-shaped anode create a microwave "whistle" as the electrons blow
past.engineerguy"It's like blowing across the top of a glass bottle," says Bob Schiffmann,
president of the International Microwave Power Institute. But instead of producing a sound
whistle, oscillating waves are generated at a specific frequency, typically 2.45 gigahertz. The
microwaves are transmitted into the cooking compartment by an antenna where they are bounced
around eventually penetrating the food.
The microwave door contains a metal mesh that reflects the microwaves like a mirror and keeps
them from leaking out. The mesh holes are too small for microwaves to escape through but large
enough that visible light can, so we can see what's cooking inside.
Most microwaves have a glass turntable that moves the food around like a carousel so that it
heats evenly. If the food wasn't being rotated, parts of wer meal would get stuck in the
microwave's hot and cold spots.

How Microwaves Cook Food

When we hit the start button "it usually takes about 2 seconds to heat up a filament inside the
magnetron tube," says Schiffmann. The microwaves are then blasted into the food compartment.

The commonly used frequency of microwaves, 2.45 gigahertz, is easily absorbed by water, fat,
and sugar. Says Bloomfield: "The waves are at the right frequency to penetrate deep into food
and they deliver cooking power primarily to the food's water content. Water-free solids barely
absorb microwaves." That's why microwave-safe containers don't get as hot as the food inside
them.

Microwaves heat food, like a cup of coffee or a slice of lasagna, by twisting water molecules
back and forth. Water molecules are positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the
other. A single water molecule looks like Mickey Mouse's head, says Bloomfield. We can think
of the negatively charged oxygen atom as Mickey's face and the two smaller positively charged
hydrogen atoms as Mickey's ears.
The positively charged end of the water molecule tries to align itself with the microwave's
electric field while the negatively charged end points the other way. But because the field
reverses 2.5 billion times a second, Mickey's ears and face are being twisted back and forth
rapidly.

As the molecules twist back and forth, they rub into each other. This creates friction, which
produces heat.

A single water molecule has a negative and positive charge at both ends.engineerguyA
microwave cooks food much faster than a conventional oven because it heats both the
inside and outside of the food the same time, says Schiffmann. A conventional oven or
frying pan heats the surface of the food first and the heat gradually moves toward the
center. Because the air inside the microwave oven is room temperature, foods don't get
brown or crispy as they would with other forms of cooking.

This is all what about the cooking mechanism in microwave oven…

Advantages
 The main advantage is cooking time in microwave oven reduces to one fourth of the
time taken on gas stoves. So, the energy and time are saved.
 The utensils in the oven do not get heated, only the food gets heated.
 Heating frozen foods through microwave oven takes less time.
 It cooks food uniformly and the flavor and the texture of the food are not changed
when reheated.
 Microwave cooking minimizes the loss of nutrients in food while compared to
cooking in pressure cookers.
 It reduces the consumption of oil, thereby allows prepare low fat food.
 Baking can be done only in microwave ovens.
Disadvantages
 Often, the color, texture and taste of the food changes, when it is overcooked in
microwave.
 It lacks the ability to brown the meat surfaces as the food is cooked in a short period
of time. Also, this happens if it do not have browning unit.
 Foods that require deep frying like puri’s, bonda’s etc. cannot be made in microwave
oven. Also, it is not possible to make chapatti’s and roti’s.
 Only specially made microwave bowls should be used. Otherwise, there may be a
chance of transferring unwanted, harmful chemicals from the plastic cookware into
the food.
 The major disadvantage is that some studies had proved that microwaved food is
hazardous to wer health causing diseases and increasing the risk of causing
cancers as it emits cancer causing agents. Also, it causes the degeneration of the
immune system and abnormal changes in the human blood.
 Microwave ovens can be harmful if we stand directly in front of them, while they
are on. The only other way they can cause problems is if we misuse them.
 Food thicker than 1-1.5 inches cannot be cooked evenly since microwaves can
penetrate only up to the depth of 1.5 inches.

Conclusion
Microwaves are good and bad but it all depends on how one uses it. The microwave is an
important part in history because it has

changed over time and more than 90% of homes in America have one. Changes in the microwaves
have affected today's world because

it used to be over six feet tall and has changed to about twelve inches, making it fit better in every
home type. Even though the
microwave has it's health risks it is also a quick and easy way to heat or cook food.

REFERENCES

https://www.partselect.com/JustForFun/Everything-You-Need-To-Know-About-The-
Microwave.aspx
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/microwaveovens.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-microwaves-work-2014-6
http://tobyzerner.com/microwaves/