The microwave motor coverts electric power into short - or micro - radio waves. These waves bounce back and forth inside the machine until they are absorbed by the water and fat molecules in the food. When the molecules are struck by a wave, they vibrate, which generates heat. Since the waves penetrate no deeper than 1.5 inches, the center of a dish is cooked by the conduction of heat from the outer layers of the food. (This is why you need to stir your beans halfway through cooking.) After the motor is turned off, the food continues to cook until the water molecules come to a standstill, so it's best to let a dish sit for 2 to 4 minutes before digging in.
Now don't all of your declarations of, "Man this food is really hot on the outside but not in the middle!" make sense?
explanation taken from REALSIMPLE, October 2010 issue
3 comments:
This is a great explanation. And Real Simple is sticking to it's mantra and kept it simple so we could all understand. I must say, it helps to get my daily dose of science Tuesday. Thanks for continuing!
editor's note on the last comment: *its, not it's
*weekly, not daily
thank you
I too am a fan of the science. I was just thinking about this the other day. Thank you, BP!
Post a Comment