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myrtleza
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And why can't food be cooked with X-rays or radio waves?
Mentz114 said:( water ?)
This I knew - though I'd assumed the idea was to try to not actually cook the food before it had had a chance to thaw.mgb_phys said:The defrost setting on your microwave actually turns the power on and off for 5-10secs, allowing the microwave generated heat in the melted part to transmit to the still frozen part.
But this I did not know!mgb_phys said:Ice is almost transparent to microwaves, the bond resonance in ice is very differnet to the bond in water.
Defennder said:Does resonance here mean the same thing as "delocalization"?
If he was putting the ice in the microwave, why did he have to put the microwave in the freezer?gamesguru said:The way microwaves work is by hitting a resonance frequency of water, I forget which one it is but I don't think it's the first. It would be possible to hit another resonance with x-rays but it is easier to hit lower resonances.
My adviser was doing an experiment to test if ice would melt in a microwave. It was quite a challenge to get a freezer large enough and cold enough for the microwave to fit in and for the ice to stay solid. When he finally got what he needed, the ice didn't melt. Fifteen minutes in the microwave and not a drop of water, pretty amazing.
DaveC426913 said:If he was putting the ice in the microwave, why did he have to put the microwave in the freezer?
So he had to cool the air that was inside the microwave, and, I suppose, the inner walls of the oven itself. OK.Nick89 said:Because ice melts in room temperature... If you want to show that a microwave doesn't melt ice then you can't just put a block of ice in, see it melt and then say "well that was because the room is hot enough for the ice to melt, but the microwave didn't have anything to do with it, honest!"...
Yes but it has no effect on ice, thus it is something specific about the liquid water bonds that cause the heating. I wasn't sure if the previous posts were refuting that.Nick89 said:As far as I know, they are causing the water molecules to vibrate and rotate around which generates heat.
Water molecules are dipoles, which essentially means that their charge distribution is not perfectly symmetrical. One side of the molecule is more positive then the other (or less negative whichever way you look at it). The microwaves are essentially oscillating electric and magnetic fields, to which the charges in the water molecules react (by rotating).
DaveC426913 said:Yes but it has no effect on ice, thus it is something specific about the liquid water bonds that cause the heating. I wasn't sure if the previous posts were refuting that.
Microwaves use electromagnetic waves to directly heat the water molecules inside food, while infra-red grills heat food through convection and conduction. This means that microwaves can heat food more evenly and efficiently, resulting in faster cooking times.
Cooking with microwaves tends to result in a softer and moister texture, while cooking with an infra-red grill can create a crispy and charred exterior. The different heating methods also affect the flavor of the food, as microwaves do not produce the same browning reactions that occur with grilling.
Microwaves are best for heating and cooking foods with high water content, such as vegetables and soups. Infra-red grills are better for cooking meats and foods that need to be browned or caramelized. Both methods have limitations, so it's important to choose the right one for the type of food you want to cook.
In general, microwaves are more energy-efficient than infra-red grills. This is because microwaves directly heat the food, while grills need to heat the air around the food to cook it. However, the energy efficiency also depends on the specific model and usage of the appliance.
There have been concerns about the potential health effects of using microwaves due to the use of electromagnetic waves. However, numerous studies have found that microwaves do not pose any significant health risks. As for infra-red grills, there may be concerns about the formation of carcinogenic compounds on the surface of the food, but this can be minimized by proper grilling techniques.