Bayer MSMS | How does a microwave work?

www.bayerus.com/msms -- Ever wonder how your microwave oven works? Let's make sense of it with science!

I thought we'd start by making dinner. Say a roast with garlic and thyme.

Pop it in the microwave. Set the timer. And ... you know, we should go in there, too.

Watch out for the rotisserie!

Right now, our roast is being bathed in microwaves, which are not nuclear radiation, but a form of electromagnetic energy similar to that of radio waves. Except these have shorter wavelengths. That's why they called microwaves.

Contrary to rumor, microwaves heat from the outside in, not the inside out. Look, they've already penetrated about an inch into our roast.

To see how the rest cooks, we'll take a peek inside.

Okay. The number one ingredient in all food is water. And these microwaves have a big effect on water molecules.

Watch what happens when a microwave passes by a patch of some.

Look at those molecules go! See, water molecules pick up the energy from the microwaves. That's why they're vibrating so much. It's these vibrating molecules that create heat. And it's that heat that's cooking the inside of our roast.

In other words, microwaves transfer their energy to water. And water turns that energy into heat. That heat cooks the food. Now you know how a microwave works.

And why our roast is now done. Hope you enjoyed this little morsel of microwave technology.

It all makes sense with science.

This has been presented by Bayer Corporation's national education program, Making Science Make Sense.

Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the U.S. subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and high-tech materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. Our business activities focus on health care, crop science and high-tech materials. To learn more, visit: www.bayerus.com/msms/. "Like" us on Facebook facebook.com/BayerMSMS and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/BayerMSMS. Thank you for viewing!

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