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Originally Posted by sohh_fly
ken i meant from the operation of the microwave oven.
micro-waves cant be good,am i wrong?
there is a element of radiation at play no?
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Light is radiation of the same sort, but more energetic and more unevenly penetrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vallkynn
Laser ???'  Microwave ovens use a magnetron oscillator to produce a electromagnetic wave of 2,4 GHz. This frequency heats water molecules, and since most food have water in it, it will heat almost any kind of food more or less uniformelly depending of the water contents and distribution in the food. |
Fats are also good absorbers of microwave energy. And yeah, a magnetron is not a laser, though it operates in a vaguely similar way to a free electron laser...the output is not coherent, just in a spectrum where typical food has high absorbance and the interior of the microwave does not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vallkynn
There's still some debate about the safety of microwave ovens, not in shielding but on food changes. Since the food is heated at a molecular level, it is believed that proteins can decompose and turn to unknown compounds that may be toxic. By daily experience you have noticed for sure that some heated food behaves like rubber and it taste quite different when heated in thermal ovens.
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The taste difference is likely due to the absence of the reactive, unstable, and tasty substances produced by scorching and browning (caramelization, the Maillard reaction) reactions in conventional cooking. Its effects are identical to any other heat source, aside from timescale and distribution.