Sunday, October 10, 2010

Whats Inside a Microwave Project

So I burnt a potato in the microwave once - - - when I say burnt I mean it actually caught fire and filled the microwave with smoke so thick it darkened the inside so much I thought it was off (even though the light was on inside!) The microwave was so roasted and toasted inside that it was time to get a new one . . . which naturally led to the:

Whats inside a microwave project!

Most parts of the microwave are pretty boring, like the fan motor here and capacitor (kind of big actually).

This is the part where the electricity comes into the heart of the microwave, sometimes called the "Magnetron." That is where the microwaves are generated. Here is a great website about how magnetrons work, from which I have stole this diagram below,


and this is the thing itself!


The magnets are quite awesome, now gracing my fridge. Not really sure what the gold looking foil is about...

Magnetron sans magnets.

and lastly a look inside the most inside you can get in a microwave.

3 comments:

  1. Some great microwave recipes: Incandescent light bulbs. Pop tart wrappers. CDs. Aluminum foil with points aimed at each other. Grape halves, carefully sectioned and dried with a bit of skin still connecting them. Poodles.

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  2. Normally potatoes just explode. Can we expect an update to the baked potato recipe in your microwave cookbook?

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  3. halise.t.r.k4/29/13, 1:05 PM

    If you poke holes in your potato, it won't explode :)

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