h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Many people have told me that if I turn on a microwave with nothing inside it, the microwave will explode.

Many people have turned out to be wrong - my $25 microwave was recently left on 'high' for 30 minutes with nothing in (by accident) except the tray, and it still works perfectly fine.

So I'm putting my money on it being an urban myth, along with the idea that if you switch on an electricity plug with nothing attached, electrons will flood into the room and kill you.

Otherwise, the next time I'm in an anticapitalist demonstration, I'll walk into Tandys, and set all the microwaves to "full" and set them going...

OK totally off the top of my head and I may be totally wrong but-

Expensive microwave with timers, programs etc is full of chips, microwaves not absorb by food leaks out zaps chips (micro not potato)

Cheap microwave - no chip basic clockwork time switch robust and less likely to be damaged.

Who knows I may even be right

CH

... and see them burning in a cloud of poisonous smoke after some while --- as long as you can /see/ at all. The grating in the front door and its metal sealing serve to keep microwaves in the oven until they are absorbed by the goods inside. Lacking the latter, more energy may leak and find the proteins in your eyeballs as absorbers. Compare this effect to an egg /inside/ the oven.

Rumour has it that radar operators preferably father daughters rather than sons, which has been attributed to exposure of male reproductive organs to microwaves. Fiddling around with mechanically defective microwaves is not too good an idea if you plan on having further offspring.

The magnetron (the 'gizmo' inside) creates microwave energy and is not designed to consume this energy by itself. So you definitely need some absorbing party in the ofen which is where the glass of water comes into play. Otherwise you would at least blow a fuse or an integrated absorber, if not overheating some other part like cables in there.

Besides: frozen water does not absorb too well at 2.44...GHz, therefore thawing ice is also only recommended if you supply said glass of water as well.

So - can someone point me to a reputable source which gives this advice about having something in the microwave? Just cos lots of people have heard this myth doesn't mean I'm more likely to believe it...

well, just believe me
Everything is /fact/ apart from the 'rumour' part which -- to the best of my knowledge -- has not yet been subjected to some serious studies.

and here are some sources for further reading: URL's removed by moderator
(hmmm, might well be enough stuff for a new entry....

Well - I'll happilly believe that the radiation leakage from them can be dangerous - that makes sense - always has done. That's why I stand well clear of my oven when it's on...

My query was rather the question of whether microwaves get damaged if you turn them on while empty - ie, is that glass of water necessary? All your sources seem to focus on the microwaves leaking out - not on the oven exploding...

No matter - maybe these comments would better be placed in the forum for the article on microwaves!

I think this entry is great...

Well, it was in one of my first lectures that you cannot /destroy/ energy, you can only /convert/ it. And metals are bad absorbers for microwaves. The reason that they heat up is only that their conductivity is somewhat less than infinity, and the only thing that is matched to the wavelength in an empty oven is the magnetron itself, so that is where the most heat is being produced.
And there you go (in the preface):
There some more links on funny experiments: URL's removed by moderator
Unwise experiments: URL's removed by moderator
CD toasting (no water mentioned, photos included) URL's removed by moderator


Anyway, a magnetron explosion is unlikely to happen since there is a heat fuse attached to it.

Sorry KH, you are right, there. Didn't see your post as I had the "Post" screen open while searching.

I heard recently about a conversion kit you can get to turn a CD into a clock... possible addition?

Oh that's nothing sophisticated at all. Just a bit of mechanic equipment that makes up a clock with two or three hands and lacking the face of a clock, which you are supposed to supply by inserting any CD of your choice. I bought a set for some DM 5,- (roughly $2.20), and was annoyed by the noisy tic-tic-tic of it. And these days it seems everyone has got one of them. If you really want something special then look out for an old winchester drive (with 8" diameter or so). An eye-catcher, I say!

I remember Winchester drives from about 20 years ago that had a diameter of about 3 feet. Now that really would be an eye-catching clock!

It may not be a huge success, but maybe the clock idea ought to be added to the article...

I'd support that. Alas, the author seems to be missing, or at a very long lunch break, presumed fed.

i like your entry. i've been wondering what to do with all those stupid CD's.... i've actually been considering wallpapering the computer room with them!

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review Sin Bin' to 'What to Do With Complimentary AOL CD-ROMs'.

Back to Entry - very enjoyable read but similar to A273836 Free Internet CDs