• BenLeMan@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • meant2live218@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      12
      ·
      1 year ago

      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?

      • Zaphod
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        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]

      • stebo02@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        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.

      • BenLeMan@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        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!

    • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      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.

    • stebo02@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      ·
      1 year ago

      they are radio waves with no particles

      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.

      • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Don’t know why they didn’t just say EMF or electromagnetic radiation when correcting me, would’ve been a better descriptor