Microwaves Work Really Dangerous
- Microwaves. The waves, not the appliance. They can heat food, but can also make people sick. (beep) Last year, personnel atthe US Embassy in Cuba, were thought to be attackedby microwave weapons. Microwave weapons?! I thought all I had to worryabout was whether or not I was standing too closeto my microwave at home. Microwaves, the appliance, not the waves, have always been at thecenter to this urban legend.
They're dangerous to stand next to, they'll give you radiation poisoning. They just can't be safe for you. And, if people aremaking weapons with them, then, is all of this true? So, is your microwave dangerous? (techno music) (saxophone) Come on. Let's go. (saxophone) (beep) (saxophone) Well, first of all, how didwe even get the microwave? (drum beats) All the way back in 1946,engineer Percy Spencer, was testing a military graded magnetron, a mechanism that helpedgenerate microwaves, when he stumbled upon a curious discovery. A peanut cluster bar, a snackhe brought to work that day, melted in his pocket. Spencer was baffled. I mean, what the hell has the power to melt a peanut cluster? It's really (bleep) melted onto this plate.
Looking back at the magnetron,he conducted another test. Spencer placed an egg under the magnetron, turned it on, and POP! It exploded all over his face. Probably the best case scenario of an egg on your face moment.
Pretty soon he was literallymaking popcorn for people in his office using thenew found discovery. And a year later, the first commercialmicrowave would be born. Except, it wasn't called a microwave. It was called the Radarange, which sounds a lot likesomething you'd find in a video game. It also cost over $2000, and weighed almost 750 pounds. That's about half the weight of a cow. (moo) So, it wasn't exactly themost convenient appliance to get delivered to your home.
Not to mention, this technologywas new and different. Think about it; some engineer comes up with agiant device that's marketed to heat up food usingmicrowave technology. If I were a consumer in the 1950's, I'd call (bleep) Americans just weren't readyto spend that kind of money on an appliance that theyfrankly, didn't understand. So, how exactly did thisfabled technology work?
(techno music) Well, let's start with a magnetron. A magnetron produces microwave radiation in a small area it's facing. A hot cathode emits electrons that are deflected by a magnetic field. Cavities surrounding thecathode radiant electromagnetic energy as a result. These waves are directedonto the food sitting on top of the dish while your food rotates. Your food needs to spinso that the microwaves can enter every side of it.
This is what cooks your food evenly. So, the next time you seeyour food get stuck in there, and your to lazy to open the door, just do it, and nudge it. You can thank me later. These waves also have thepotential to bounce off of the metal walls of the chamber, and hit your food. After all, they travel atabout the speed of light. Once the waves reach your food they stop bouncing and enter, traveling to the center, and causing molecules tovibrate faster and faster. I'm talking way faster thanyour phone could ever vibrate.
These molecules heat up thefood the more they vibrate, cooking your food from the inside out. Kind of like when yourub your hands together when you're cold. The friction of the moleculesheats up the entire dish. So, who needs hand warmers? Liquid distribution is also a huge factor. The more liquids evenly distributed, the more even your food will cook. Also, life hack; if you put a wet towel on dry food, it actually cooks betterthanks to this principle.
So try it next time heatingup some rice or something, I don't know. Okay, the convenience is a major selling point of a microwave. But, is a microwave safe? After all, it is essentiallya machine that pumps out electromagnetic radiation. Are you being exposed to any danger? (techno music) Okay, so remember whenyour parents would tell you to get away from the microwavewhenever you turned it on, and you'd think, Awe, that's bull (bleep) I'm invincible and I'm never gonna die. Well, their caution wasn't based on much, because if your microwavedoes actually eek out any radiation,standing in front doesn'tactually expose you to it. Your microwave is actuallydesigned to keep radiation in. That's why, pretty much lock itself shut. To keep the electromagneticradiation contained, and you safe from exposure.
Also, opposite the wave guideis a metal grid on the wall of the microwave that blocksradiation from escaping. The holes on the grid are huge, right? Well, microwaves are actuallymuch bigger than you'd expect, so it is a sufficient defense. For the most part, you'reactually pretty safe. However, the FDA haswarned on it's website that microwave related injuries do happen. Most of them are just burns from hot food. I was a victim of one ofthese injuries by the way. (violin music) (bleep) - [Bystander] Are you okay? - Owww - [Bystander] Too hot?
- Owww Yeah, it was way to hot. (bleep) When the package says let it cool, let it cool. A small percentage of injuriesis attributed to radiation. It's as much detail as we can get from the FDA's official website. A small percentage, which seems shady, but in all my research for the piece, nothing I saw pointedto dangerous radiation leaching into you or your food.
They've said that this is probably due to improper servicing, and in usual circumstances, in which radiation has leaked through. Plus the FDA has restrictionsin place that require microwave manufacturersto make sure only a certain amount of radiationleaks out, if any. Are microwaves supposeto leak out radiation? Not really. But, as with any homeappliance you own for years, microwaves aren't immune to wear and tear. But, is your food actuallysafe from radiation? Or, are you consumingradioactive left overs?
Well, The Journal ofAgricultural and Food Chemistry actually published a study in 2010, that suggests microwavingvegetables is actually a valid way of steaming them. The team microwavedbrussel sprouts and found that they kept their cancerbattling properties in tact. Despite research, thereare still come skeptics on the internet who believe microwaves and wifi are slowing killing us. Studies have been doneon short-term effects with no evidence suggesting this, but more long-term studiesshould be conducted before we consider ourselves scot-free.
Now that we know that the microwave in your home is pretty safe, we should talk aboutthose microwave weapons. Since 2016, diplomats atthe US's Cuban Embassy suffered an odd combinationof symptoms and ailments that confused experts; ear pain, vertigo, nausea,fatigue, headaches. A lot of what thesediplomats had in common was hearing loud noisesthat weren't actually there. But scientists were quick to point out that microwaves could have been culprit. Experiments in 1962 provedthat certain parts of our brain can perceive microwaves as sound. And, with no other clear explanation, this microwave weapon theory seemed to hold a lot of weight. However, other scientistshave called bullshit.
The symptoms have beenattributed to shared stress, viruses and bacteria, and even psychological contagion. Like, when somebody tells you there's a cold is going around, and you were feeling fine, but and hour later you started sneezing. That's a lot like howpsychological contagion works. If somebody says, I hear buzzing, pretty soon, you mightstart hearing buzzing. It's scary, but again scientists aren't worried. Microwave technology hasn't improved much since it's inception, but in the future wemight see huge changes to the house hold staple. Amazon sells Alexa-enabled microwaves that you can actually talk to.
Microwaves could also get muchsmaller and even portable. The Adventurer microwaveis being developed by UK company, Wayv, and is basically a microwave you can take with you on the go. It's the size of a big thermos and can heat food for aboutfive minutes at a time. I'll take ten, thanks. There's also the intelligentRF cooking appliance being developed by NXP, which uses multiple microwavesources to cook different foods the best possibleway at the same time. It can also defrost foods and boil liquids without them spillingover their containers, because it recognizeselectrical resistance inside.
As for microwave weapons,there are such a thing as DEWs, or Directed Energy Weaponsthat use microwaves and other energy forms to attack enemy vehicles, missiles and personnel. These include the Active Denial System, a non-lethal microwaveweapon that heats the water inside human skin causing pain. But, no lethal microwave weapons exist so there's nothing to worry about at the moment. Until then, I'll be here reheating pizza to my heart's content. Give me a second to yank this out. (flute music) Hey guys, thank you so muchfor watching Contechtual. If you liked this episode, please make sure to leave a comment below, and tell us what ya liked about it.
And, if you have any ideas fornew episodes for next season, let us know in the comments as well. We have new episodescoming out every Thursday. So, if you wanna keep trackof all the new episodes coming up, please like and subscribe to our page. As always, have a great day.
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