How do Microwave ovens work?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cooking requires heat to help in softening the food to make it palatable and easily digestible. Microwave oven is a device for cooking in which heat is not supplied from outside, but is generated within the food material by means of high frequency radio waves. The radio waves, called microwave because of their extremely short wavelength, are generated by a special device. When they fall on food placed inside the oven, they are absorbed by the water molecules present in the food. As a result the molecules start vibrating very rapidly, at the rate of more than 2000 million times per second. This rapid vibration leads to generation of heat which heats up the food from inside. To ensure uniform cooking, the platform on which the food is placed is made to turn slowly during cooking. The cooking time can be preset by a variable power control.