Weather you are a chef, stay at home mom, or just someone who likes to eat ( including me) you have probably use the microwave oven many times, almost daily. In fact, they are present in 90% of homes in America. But, other than microwave ovens, there are many more uses for microwave radiation.
Microwave is a region of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of short radio waves that range from 1mm-1m in length, about the seize of a human. They have a frequency range from 1GHz-1000GHz. Microwaves can be produced by cavity magnetrons, which is a high powered vacuum tube.The sun also emits microwaves but most of the rays are blocked by the atmosphere.
Another u
se for microwaves other than the common microwave oven is for long distance telephone calls. These were especially popular before the invention of fiber-optics. They are also used in television news to transmit single from the remote location of the news van to the the television station. Although this may not work on modern televisions, you can turn the dial of the T.V. to in-between stations. Some of this "snow" is from the noise from microwave radiation. Radars and Global Positioning Systems use microwaves as well.
There are several interesting phenomena related to microwaves. One being that they have the same natural frequency as water. So, when microwaves cause constant vibrations in water, fats, sugars, etc., it causes it to heat up. This same process happens when food is microwaved in a microwave oven. Another phenomena occurs when the universe was created 10-20 billion years ago through the Big Bang and an immense amount o
f energy was released. This energy is known as Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation and is essentially what is left from the Big Bang that as a result, filled the universe. Because the expanding universe cooled since then, the radiation waves have lengthened and are now part of the microwave spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Microwaves, unfortunately, can cause health problems. Microwave ovens turn some minerals in the food heated into cancerous agents because the radiation kills the good cells that are within the food. Studies have shown that foods from a microwave can cause tumors in the stomach or intestine. They have also shown that some microwave radiation, including those caused by cell phones, satellites, TVs etc., can contribute to neurological, reproductive, and cardiac problems.
Microwaves are a big part of the technological world that we live in. Many of the objects we use everyday are made possible by microwave radiation. On the flip side, they can also cause a large number of health problems. Nevertheless, microwaves are an important in our society and will help shape the technology of the future.
Microwave photo from: http://dualelectronics.com/shop/index.php?cPath=24
Microwave telephone tower photo from: http://www.cwlab.com/index.php?q=form601
Cosmic Microwave Background photo from: http://www.newscientist.com/articleimages/dn11172/1-satellite-could-see-shadow-of-extra-dimensions.html
Video from : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Hxhgnni2E
Works Cited:
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"Microwave." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
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"Microwave." Oxford Reference Online. N.p., 2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2010.
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ENTRY.html?entry=t142.e7554&srn=1&ssid=1035360246#FIRSTHIT>.
Tripathi, Vijai K. "Microwave." World Book Advanced. N.p., 2010. Web. 17 Mar.
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