Imagine trying to explain to someone living even as recently as the the 17th century that you could use type of invisible light to make the water in your food boil without any visible source of heat, thus cooking it in place. They’d think you were either a witch or had gone insane.
Light may serve well as a 17th century explanation or approximation of what microwaves are. But just to clarify: they are radio waves with no particles. And not only is there no source of heat visible, there literally isn’t one in the device. The heat emanates from the water in the food itself.
Maybe I’ve forgotten my high school physics, but radio waves and light are still all EMF, right? They’re the exact same thing at different frequencies?
Yes. Microwaves are called that because they have a wavelength in the order of magnitude of micrometers, while visible light has wavelengths of 380-750 nanometers.
That’s what I thought as well. A quick Wikipedia read more or less confirms this.
In physics, electromagnetic radiation (EMR) consists of waves of the electromagnetic (EM) field, which propagate through space and carry momentum and electromagnetic radiant energy.[1] Types of EMR include radio waves, microwaves, infrared, (visible) light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays, all of which are part of the electromagnetic spectrum.[2]
I must have forgotten my high school physics, maybe because it was too long ago but I thought light is the only kind of EM radiation with photons. Guess I learned something today. Thanks!
Just to clarify myself, I am aware of both of the points you made - that not all types of electromagnetic radiation are created equal, and that it is the interaction of microwaves with water thar creates heat, not the microwave itself, which is essentially just a radiation emitter/container
My language was deliberately pointing out how absurd it would sound to someone from the 17th Century.
This doesn’t make sense as in quantum mechanics, waves and particles are the same. Microwaves consist of photons just like any other type of lightwaves.
See, you hold this box to your head after telling it a secret code and you can talk to anyone else with a similar box. We got kind of tired of this as a culture now, though, so we just make the boxes send each other short mail.
Imagine trying to explain to someone living even as recently as the the 17th century that you could use type of invisible light to make the water in your food boil without any visible source of heat, thus cooking it in place. They’d think you were either a witch or had gone insane.
Light may serve well as a 17th century explanation or approximation of what microwaves are. But just to clarify: they are radio waves with no particles. And not only is there no source of heat visible, there literally isn’t one in the device. The heat emanates from the water in the food itself.
Maybe I’ve forgotten my high school physics, but radio waves and light are still all EMF, right? They’re the exact same thing at different frequencies?
Yes. Microwaves are called that because they have a wavelength in the order of magnitude of micrometers, while visible light has wavelengths of 380-750 nanometers.
That’s what I thought as well. A quick Wikipedia read more or less confirms this.
I must have forgotten my high school physics, maybe because it was too long ago but I thought light is the only kind of EM radiation with photons. Guess I learned something today. Thanks!
Yeah, they are. Just two different types, or frequencies rather
Just to clarify myself, I am aware of both of the points you made - that not all types of electromagnetic radiation are created equal, and that it is the interaction of microwaves with water thar creates heat, not the microwave itself, which is essentially just a radiation emitter/container
My language was deliberately pointing out how absurd it would sound to someone from the 17th Century.
This doesn’t make sense as in quantum mechanics, waves and particles are the same. Microwaves consist of photons just like any other type of lightwaves.
Don’t know why they didn’t just say EMF or electromagnetic radiation when correcting me, would’ve been a better descriptor
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Yeah. It is quite the myth.
A microwave is essentially just an emitter and container.
See, you hold this box to your head after telling it a secret code and you can talk to anyone else with a similar box. We got kind of tired of this as a culture now, though, so we just make the boxes send each other short mail.