Microwave Ovens - The Long History Of Them

A microwave oven can be used for cooking, baking, boiling water and also heating food cooked earlier. It is one of the most versatile household article and a truly great invention. Let us take a look at the man who invented this magnificent apparatus and how he went about putting together his ideas.

In 1946 an engineer, Dr. Percy Spencer was leading a radar related research product. While monitoring the project he noticed something quite unexpected. He noticed that while testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron, there was heat produced which melted the candy in his pocket.

Surprised by the outcome, be began to study in detail about the process that happened and did several other experiments. One of the experiment was that he put some popcorn kernels near the tube and was surprised to see the popcorn cracking and scattered all over the room.

In yet another experiment, he placed an egg near the magnetron tube and asked another colleague to witness what happened with him. The egg, reacting to the application of extreme pressure, began to tremble. The temperature inside the egg caused the egg to explode, sending yoke all over the lab.

There was so much of heat produced and pressure mounted on the egg which started shaking and finally exploded. Hot yoke was spluttered all over the place and on the bystanders. Going by these tests, he realised it was possible to cook other items also using the low-density microwave energy.

After this, Dr. Spencer created a metal box and connected it to the microwave source. The result was that there was an enclosed space from where the energy could not escape. Then Dr. Spencer put some food inside the box and the temperature rose quickly and the food was cooked. Hence this was the first time ever when microwave energy was used to cook food.

This idea was further refined by other engineers. Raytheon Corporation filed for patent rights and proposed the use of microwaves for cooking food. For the first time, an oven built with the same technology was first placed in a restaurant in Boston for a trial period. It was a great success and the microwave oven was born.

In 1947, the first microwave oven was launched in the market. The earlier models were very big and very heavy. They were also very expensive, costing almost $5000. Also the ovens were getting over-heated and needed to be water cooled. Initially, the manufacturers installed spiral coils around the oven. Water was circulated through these coils and hence the oven was cooled.

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