- Microwaves.
The waves, not the appliance.
They can heat food,
but can also make people sick.
(beep)
Last year, personnel at the US Embassy in Cuba,
were thought to be attacked by microwave weapons.
Microwave weapons?!
I thought all I had to worry about was whether or not
I was standing too close to my microwave at home.
Microwaves, the appliance, not the waves,
have always been at the center 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 are making 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 did we even get the microwave?
(drum beats)
All the way back in 1946, engineer Percy Spencer,
was testing a military graded magnetron,
a mechanism that helped generate microwaves,
when he stumbled upon a curious discovery.
A peanut cluster bar, a snack he 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 literally making popcorn for people
in his office using the new found discovery.
And a year later,
the first commercial microwave would be born.
Except, it wasn't called a microwave.
It was called the Radarange,
which sounds a lot like something 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 the most convenient appliance
to get delivered to your home.
Not to mention, this technology was new and different.
Think about it;
some engineer comes up with a giant device that's marketed
to heat up food using microwave technology.
If I were a consumer in the 1950's,
I'd call
(bleep)
Americans just weren't ready to spend that kind of money
on an appliance that they frankly, didn't understand.
So, how exactly did this fabled 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 the cathode radiant electromagnetic
energy as a result.
These waves are directed onto the food sitting on top
of the dish while your food rotates.
Your food needs to spin so that the microwaves
can enter every side of it.
This is what cooks your food evenly.
So, the next time you see your 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 the potential to bounce off of the
metal walls of the chamber,
and hit your food.
After all, they travel at about the speed of light.
Once the waves reach your food
they stop bouncing and enter,
traveling to the center,
and causing molecules to vibrate faster and faster.
I'm talking way faster than your phone could ever vibrate.
These molecules heat up the food the more they vibrate,
cooking your food from the inside out.
Kind of like when you rub your hands together
when you're cold.
The friction of the molecules heats 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 better thanks to this principle.
So try it next time heating up 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 essentially a machine that pumps out
electromagnetic radiation.
Are you being exposed to any danger?
(techno music)
Okay, so remember when your parents would tell you
to get away from the microwave whenever 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 microwave does actually eek
out any radiation,
standing in front doesn't actually expose you to it.
Your microwave is actually designed to keep radiation in.
That's why, pretty much lock itself shut.
To keep the electromagnetic radiation contained,
and you safe from exposure.
Also, opposite the wave guide is a metal grid on the wall
of the microwave that blocks radiation from escaping.
The holes on the grid are huge, right?
Well, microwaves are actually much bigger than you'd expect,
so it is a sufficient defense.
For the most part, you're actually pretty safe.
However, the FDA has warned 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 of these 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 injuries is 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 pointed to 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 restrictions in place that require
microwave manufacturers to make sure only a
certain amount of radiation leaks out, if any.
Are microwaves suppose to leak out radiation?
Not really.
But, as with any home appliance you own for years,
microwaves aren't immune to wear and tear.
But, is your food actually safe from radiation?
Or, are you consuming radioactive left overs?
Well, The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
actually published a study in 2010,
that suggests microwaving vegetables is actually
a valid way of steaming them.
The team microwaved brussel sprouts and found
that they kept their cancer battling properties in tact.
Despite research, there are still come skeptics
on the internet who believe microwaves
and wifi are slowing killing us.
Studies have been done on short-term effects
with no evidence suggesting this,
but more long-term studies should be conducted
before we consider ourselves scot-free.
Now that we know that the microwave
in your home is pretty safe,
we should talk about those microwave weapons.
Since 2016, diplomats at the US's Cuban Embassy
suffered an odd combination of symptoms and ailments
that confused experts;
ear pain, vertigo, nausea, fatigue, headaches.
A lot of what these diplomats had in common
was hearing loud noises that weren't actually there.
But scientists were quick to point out
that microwaves could have been culprit.
Experiments in 1962 proved that 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 scientists have called bullshit.
The symptoms have been attributed 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 how psychological contagion works.
If somebody says, I hear buzzing,
pretty soon, you might start 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 we might see huge changes to
the house hold staple.
Amazon sells Alexa-enabled microwaves
that you can actually talk to.
Microwaves could also get much smaller and even portable.
The Adventurer microwave is 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 about five minutes at a time.
I'll take ten, thanks.
There's also the intelligent RF cooking appliance
being developed by NXP,
which uses multiple microwave sources to cook different
foods the best possible way at the same time.
It can also defrost foods and boil liquids
without them spilling over their containers,
because it recognizes electrical resistance inside.
As for microwave weapons, there are such a thing as DEWs,
or Directed Energy Weapons that use microwaves
and other energy forms to attack
enemy vehicles, missiles and personnel.
These include the Active Denial System,
a non-lethal microwave weapon 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 much for 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 for new episodes for next season,
let us know in the comments as well.
We have new episodes coming out every Thursday.
So, if you wanna keep track of all the new episodes
coming up,
please like and subscribe to our page.
As always, have a great day.