I thought I’d heard the last of this one. Folks have been asking, for decades, “Is it safe to stand in front of a microwave oven?” Since the mic first became ubiquitous in Western kitchens, in fact. Myths persist. But the answer has not changed…
A Cuisinart Microwave Oven: One of thousands of makes and models,
available worldwide, in a wide variety of sizes and power ratings…
The simple answer is…
… If they weren’t safe, they wouldn’t be allowed to sell them! But I’m guessing you want to know at least something of the whys and wherefores, in support of that assertion…
There’s radiation and there’s ‘radiation’…
Scientists and MDs will probably start their answer to today’s question with an explanation of the two different kinds of radiation.
First, there’s the kind of radiation we (Boomers) all learned about dur9ing the Cold War. The kind that permeates everything from horizon to horizon during the explosion of a nuclear bomb. That’s called ‘ionizing radiation’. And it has NOTHING to do with the microwave oven on your kitchen counter.
What your mic uses is non-ionizing radiation. It’s produced not by radioactive elements, but by very-high-frequency radio transmitters. There is a hierarchy of wave types starting with VHF (Very High Frequency – i.e.- broadcast TV, police radios), moving up to UHF (Ultra High Frequency), and from there to Microwaves (RADAR, Ovens, telecommunications).
Yes, microwaves can be dangerous
There’s a famous story about how American radio engineer, Percy Spencer, first got the idea to cook with Microwaves…
“The legend is that […] Spencer was standing in front of an active radar set when he noticed the candy bar he had in his pocket melted. Spencer was not the first to notice this phenomenon, but he was the first to investigate it. He decided to experiment using food, including popcorn kernels, which became the world’s first microwaved popcorn,” Wikipedia recounts. “Spencer then created the first true microwave oven by attaching a high-density electromagnetic field generator to an enclosed metal box.” Alas… “There are no credible primary sources that verify this story.”
The Wikipedia account claims Spencer also created the first egg explosion (see photo, top of page) in a microwave oven. Well, you learn by tour mistakes…
Nevertheless… It’s the stuff that legends (and movies) are born of!
How the microwave oven works
As Spencer deduced, the radio waves impart energy to the food and make its atoms vibrate faster. That results in heat. Thus, the food is cooked.
The popular notion that microwaved food cooks from the inside out is a misapprehension. Just mic a frozen burrito for half the recommended cooking time, and cut it in half. It’ll be warm on the outside, but still cold inside.
So…
The mic in your kitchen is the modern equivalent of Spencer’s metal box. The lattice (usually a matrix of little round holes on the inside of the mic door) keeps the waves from exiting the front of the unit. It’s perfectly safe for you to stand there, salivating, waiting for your ‘instant’ snack. Or frozen entrée. Or popcorn…
~ Maggie J.