Watch The Microwaves Inside A Microwave [Video]

Microwaves don’t just use magic to heat up food, they use real microwaves too. Here’s what those invisible microwaves appear like.

Zeke Kossover built a grid of tiny neon lamps inside a sheet of acrylic. He explains how this can work:

Microwaves are invisible, so you’re able to’t see them inside microwave oven, but their presence will be detected with neon lamps. The changing electromagnetic field from the microwaves will make charged particles move, and so the electrons inside the metal legs will move creating current. This current makes the lamps glow.

One thing you spot watching the microwave do its thing: the microwaves don’t always spread evenly, some spots absorb more microwaves than others. That’s why sometimes food is usually ice cold in some spots and scorching hot in others once you microwave it. [ Hands On Science via MAKE ]

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This post is tagged: electromagnetic field, hands on science, metal legs, microwave oven, microwaves, neon lamps