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Re:microwave ovens

To: Phys-l:

On April 2, Fredb@teleport.com wrote:

I had a student ask about heating metallic items in a microwave oven. She
said that the package she was heatiing had a metallic lining. Also she said
the sides of the microwave are metallic. What is the story about heating
metals in microwave ovens?

You are not supposed to put metals in. Metals will cause unwanted
reflections. The reflected waves plus the incoming waves from the
microwave source will set up standing waves. In the standing waves,
you will have regions of high electric fields which can cause arcing.

High reflected power coming back into the microwave source can
damage it.

Regards,
Steven Ratliff




Steven T. Ratliff
Associate Professor of Physics
Northwestern College
3003 Snelling Av. N.
Saint Paul, MN 55113-1598

Internet: stratliff@nwc.edu (or str@nwc.edu)