Are microwaves actually safe?
Using chemistry to understand the safety of microwave ovens.
© American Chemical Society (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzLearn about the production of ethanol as a biofuel in Brazil.
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Johannes Gutenberg developed one of the first printing presses in the mid-1400s.Media Editor: Lauren Sims
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Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.Learn about mining and refining copper from Chile's Atacama Desert.
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Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, MainzLearn about Thomas Young's double-slit experiment that challenged Isaac Newton's theory of light.
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© MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)Learn about microwaves and how microwave ovens work.
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© MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)A brief explanation of radar.
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Created and produced by QA International. © QA International, 2010. All rights reserved. www.qa-international.comAstronomers use the electromagnetic spectrum to study different aspects of the Milky Way.
Transcript
SPEAKER: Kitchen know-it-all's beware. We just started fact checking all those health warnings everyone's grown up knowing without ever knowing why. We all want to take good care of ourselves, that's obvious. But sometimes food myths can actually get in the way of good healthy decisions. So strap in, folks. We're about to clear this food myth fog with some good old fashioned science.
This one's a double whammy that we've been hearing for a long, long time. First of all, let's take a look at how microwaves work. You might be shocked to learn that microwaves use, well, microwaves, a form of electromagnetic radiation, kind of like light, to target and excite the water molecules in your food to spin up to a state of hyperactivity. The quickly-rotating water molecules means your food heats up fast.
Can microwave radiation be harmful to humans? Well, yeah. But radiation doesn't always mean something is radioactive. In this case, it means energy radiating from a source. Extended exposure to microwave radiation can have negative effects on the body.
But the FDA has regulations on the amount of emissions that can come from microwave ovens. Over the entire lifespan of a microwave, it is limited to be that of five milliwatts of emissions per square centimeter, measured two inches from the oven surface. That amount is way, way below the amount that can hurt you. And again, the measurement is two inches away from the microwave. If you're 20 inches away, it would be about one one-hundredth of that.
There has never been any research to show that microwave ovens can cause any sort of long term damage to people. So let's just drop it, folks. Now as for your food, microwave ovens are designed to quickly effect water molecules. Even if they can affect other stuff in your food, they're not on long enough to actually do so.
Contrary to the myth, microwaving your food is actually one of the best ways to maintain its nutritional value. This is due to the short cooking time and the lack of excess water use that could potentially absorb nutrients. Microwaves save way more nutrients than boiling, steaming, or frying for that matter.
This one's a double whammy that we've been hearing for a long, long time. First of all, let's take a look at how microwaves work. You might be shocked to learn that microwaves use, well, microwaves, a form of electromagnetic radiation, kind of like light, to target and excite the water molecules in your food to spin up to a state of hyperactivity. The quickly-rotating water molecules means your food heats up fast.
Can microwave radiation be harmful to humans? Well, yeah. But radiation doesn't always mean something is radioactive. In this case, it means energy radiating from a source. Extended exposure to microwave radiation can have negative effects on the body.
But the FDA has regulations on the amount of emissions that can come from microwave ovens. Over the entire lifespan of a microwave, it is limited to be that of five milliwatts of emissions per square centimeter, measured two inches from the oven surface. That amount is way, way below the amount that can hurt you. And again, the measurement is two inches away from the microwave. If you're 20 inches away, it would be about one one-hundredth of that.
There has never been any research to show that microwave ovens can cause any sort of long term damage to people. So let's just drop it, folks. Now as for your food, microwave ovens are designed to quickly effect water molecules. Even if they can affect other stuff in your food, they're not on long enough to actually do so.
Contrary to the myth, microwaving your food is actually one of the best ways to maintain its nutritional value. This is due to the short cooking time and the lack of excess water use that could potentially absorb nutrients. Microwaves save way more nutrients than boiling, steaming, or frying for that matter.