0
Which element in the microwave heats the food and is it good for your health to eat food made in a microwave?
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Microwave ovens have a "part" or device inside them called a magnetron. The magnetron is a microwave generator, and when we energize it, it generates electromagnetic waves at fairly high power (several hundred watts) and at a microwave frequency (about 2450 megaHertz). The non-ionizing electromagnetic waves or rays generated by the magnetron cause the bonds between hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water molecules to "vibrate" sympathetically with the microwave radiation. The result is that the water molecule is "given energy" by the microwave, and this energy is expressed as "vibration" of the water molecule. It is thermal, or heat energy, and the oven heats/cooks food by heating the water in the food using microwave electromagnetic energy. As stated, this radiation is non-ionizing radiation, and it will not "harm" the food, per se. Normally heated or cooked food that is put thorugh a microwave oven is safe to eat. You will not suffer any ill effects because of something the microwave oven did to the food item(s). Note that the oven can burn food, and burnt food has some toxins in it.
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Do you have to cover food in a microwave oven?
It is not usually nesessary to put a cover on food in the microwave oven. Some people cover food to prevent soiling the inside of the oven.
What keeps most nutrients in food-microwave or boil?
Microwave. Boiling food enables the nutrients to 'leech out' into the boiling water. Microwaving simply agitates the water molecules within the food.
What form of radiation can only travel up to a few centimeters?
Microwaves radiation can only travel up to a few centimeters. This type of electromagnetic radiation is commonly used in microwave ovens, where it heats and cooks food by penetrating only the outer few centimeters.
How does food get crispy in the microwave?
Things like hot pockets and microwave pizzas use what is called a susceptor (usually in the form of a sleeve or container). These susceptors convert microwave energy into heat, which help crisp up food in the microwave, countering the effects of sogginess that is synonymous with microwave ovens. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susceptor
How does a microwave work?
A microwave oven heats food in a process called dielectric heating. The molecules in the food, primarily water molecules, are polar molecules - meaning they have both a positive and a negative pole due to the distribution of positive and negative charges on the atoms. When they are subjected to microwaves, the molecules rotate as to align themselves with the electromagnetic field, much like a compass aligning itself with the magnetic field of the Earth. Microwave ovens alternate the electromagnetic field to reverse the polarity, causing the molecules to then rotate the other way. Using the compass analogy, imagine taking a magnet and doing circles around the compass; the needle goes crazy. This excited rotation of (mostly) water molecules generates molecular friction with other surrounding excited molecules, generating heat.A common misconception is that the molecules have resonance with the particular frequency used by a microwave oven; ovens that use different frequencies can cook just as efficiently. Another misconception regards the safety of microwave ovens and their radiation. The radiation used in a microwave oven is in the form of radio waves; this is non-ionizing radiation, meaning it is not the same kind of radiation that can cause cancer; that kind of radiation is called ionizing radiation - sunlight and nuclear radiation are examples. Therefore, a microwave oven's radiation cannot cause cancer or other ionizing effects. It's also commonly believed that standing too close to a microwave oven can be harmful, but this is not true. A microwave oven acts like a Faraday cage; the holes in the metal grill that's visible through the oven door are essentially invisible to the radio waves, thanks to their wavelength, so most of the energy is reflected back into the oven. Other sources of microwave radiation, such as cell phones, cannot heat objects like a microwave for two reasons: The relative power of the transmission, and the fact that a microwave oven concentrates nearly all of the energy into the food, whereas a cell phone's transmissions dissipate in all directions, leaving the tiniest fractions of that energy to be absorbed by the body.It heats up and thaws the food that you have placed in the microwave
What does the microwave do?
the microwave heats cold stuff up!it microwaves food from other nights
What are all of the things that a microwave do?
cook all your food and heats it up and unthaws food
What part of food heats up first in a microwave oven middle or outside?
The inside
Does a convection oven heats food faster?
Faster than a conventional oven, slower than a microwave
When you cook food in a microwave oven why doesn't the plate get get cooked?
Plates are usually either ceramic or glass. Both materials are transparent to the microwave radiation in a microwave oven. The electromagnetic energy goes right through the plates like they weren't there. It is the food that heats the plate as that food is being heated. Remember that the microwave radiation is "tuned" to work on the hydrogen-oxygen bonds in water. It gives them "energy" and heats them up. There are some plates that will actually get a bit hot directly from the microwave energy, but that depends on the composition of the plate.
When you cook food in a microwave oven why doesn't the plate get cooked?
Plates are usually either ceramic or glass. Both materials are transparent to the microwave radiation in a microwave oven. The electromagnetic energy goes right through the plates like they weren't there. It is the food that heats the plate as that food is being heated. Remember that the microwave radiation is "tuned" to work on the hydrogen-oxygen bonds in water. It gives them "energy" and heats them up. There are some plates that will actually get a bit hot directly from the microwave energy, but that depends on the composition of the plate.
Can you leave plates of food to be eaten later on-top of a microwave if the microwave is used in the mean time will it not keep reheating the food on top of the microwave?
Microwaves should not be leaking from the microwave oven, however leaving food out and not refrigerated can be a health hazard in itself.
What happens to foods when microwaved in microwave?
The residual heat from being in the microwave keeps cooking whatever food your cooking.
Why can not Plastic microwave dishes can not be used in conventional oven?
Most plastics are not heated by microwaves and will not be damaged. They also allow microwaves to enter the food from all directions, metal bowls would block microwaves except from the top causing uneven cooking.
Why does tilapia blow up in the microwave?
well you see the microwave is based on water inside the food to make an enzyme that thous heats up food, and tilapia has some of the same starches as carrots or like eggs has no way for energy to escape
Microwave oven left on 10 minutes with no food in it no longer heats can it be repaired?
Probably needs a new Klystron tube. Not worth it to have it fixed.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using microwave ovens to cook food?
Pro ; fast & energy efficient. Con ; as it only heats water (hydrogen), it's the same as steaming food, too dry and it works poorly, and it heats unevenly - although it does heat throughout the mass of the food object.
