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The operating principle of a microwave oven. Reference

The operating principle of a microwave oven. Reference

Every conscientious historian who has been interested in the development of technological progress knows very well that the theory of using microwaves to heat food appeared in the mid-1920s. However, Percy Spencer, an American from Massachusetts, was the first to receive a patent for a microwave oven for defrosting and heating food on October 8, 1945. This date is considered the birthday of the microwave oven. According to a widespread legend, the idea for this useful invention came to the scientist at the moment when a chocolate bar unexpectedly melted in his pocket. Surprised, Spencer began to look for the cause of the unpleasant emergency and soon realized that the reason for such incorrect behavior of the chocolate bar was the magnetron near which he was standing. As is known, this particular device generates microwave electromagnetic radiation. A worthy legend for an invention useful in the household, which was quickly adopted by military canteens and large restaurants. It should be noted that the first microwave ovens were large and heavy. With a height of about two meters, their weight reached about 340 kg. Those microwave ovens to which we are accustomed began to appear in the West only in the 1960s, and in the USSR from the second half of the 1970s. However, the modern historiography of the appearance of the first microwave ovens is not reliable. In fact, they were invented in the USSR on the eve of the Great Patriotic War.

The problem with the prevalence of oncology did not appear yesterday. But right now, after the word “cancer,” doctors say “epidemic.”

According to an international non-profit organization, 12 million new cases of cancer are recorded annually in the world.

The growth is associated with the aging of the population, with changes in lifestyle caused by life in megacities. About 2.8 million people a year get cancer due to bad habits, poor nutrition, and excess weight, said Foundation spokesman Martin Wiseman. “In less than 10 years, cancer numbers have increased by 20%. The numbers are, of course, terrible.

Let's try to look at this terrible trend from a different perspective, let's combine it with the technological development of mankind, namely, with the emergence microwave ovens. Knowing about the works and patents of Ph.D. Shironosova V.G. and Doctor of Medical Sciences Khachatryan A.P. (read the WATER section of this site), which are embodied in therapeutic methods and devices for household/medical purposes, we will consider oncological diseases through the “prism of water”, which is what a person actually consists of.

Microwave oven or microwave oven

This is an electrical appliance based on a magnetron, designed for quickly cooking or heating food, defrosting food in the home using electromagnetic waves in the UHF range (usually with a frequency of 2450 MHz). Cellular telephone and local radio communication systems also operate in this range, for example, using protocols Bluetooth And WiFi used by wireless electronic devices.

Unlike classic ovens (for example, oven or Russian oven), heating food in microwave oven occurs not only from the surface, but also throughout the volume of the product containing polar molecules (such as water) as a result dipole shift under the influence of an alternating electric field, since radio waves of this frequency penetrate and are absorbed by food products at a depth of approximately 2.5 cm.

For better heating, the frequency of the alternating electric field must be set in such a way that the molecules have time to completely rearrange themselves during the half-cycle. Since water is contained in almost all products, the frequency of the microwave emitter of the microwave oven was selected for better heating of water molecules in the liquid state, while ice, fat and sugar heat up much worse.

In ice, frozen water molecules are held in a crystal lattice, require a lower frequency for dipole shift (kilohertz instead of gigahertz, for example, 33 kHz is used to remove ice from power lines), and the radiation frequency used in microwave oven turns out to be not optimal.

There is a widespread belief that microwave heats food from the inside out. In fact, microwaves go from the outside to the inside and are retained in the outer layers of food, so heating a uniformly moist product occurs in approximately the same way as in an oven (to be convinced of this, it is enough to heat boiled potatoes “in their jackets,” where the thin skin sufficiently protects the product from drying out).

The misconception is due to the fact that microwave do not affect dry non-conductive materials, which are usually on the surface of products, and therefore their heating in some cases begins deeper than with other heating methods (bread products, for example, are heated from the inside, and it is for this reason that bread and The buns have a dried out crust on the outside, and most of the moisture is concentrated inside).

The change in the properties of water pumped with microwave energy is so serious that it can overheat above the boiling point!

Microwaves "bomb" water molecules in food, causing them to spin at millions of times per second, creating molecular friction that heats the food. This friction causes significant damage to food molecules, breaking or deforming them.

Simply put, microwave causes decay and changes in the molecular structure of food during the radiation process and the food becomes “dead”, moreover, dead in the literal sense of the word, and this state should not be confused with

A living example from Marshall Dudley in the form of an experiment conducted in 2006. Filtered water is poured into two containers. In the first, water is heated to boiling on a regular stove, and in the second, water is heated to boiling in microwave. After cooling, the water is used to water specially prepared two absolutely identical plants.

It was expected that the plant watered with water boiled on the stove would grow more intensively, but the experiment had to be stopped on the 9th day, because... plant watered with water boiled in microwave began to fade and died.

Who invented microwave ovens?

There are several versions:

1. The Nazis invented the microwave oven for their military operations - “ radiomissor". The time spent on cooking in this case was sharply reduced, which made it possible to concentrate on other tasks. After the war, the Allies discovered medical research carried out by the Germans with microwave ovens. These documents, as well as some working models, were transferred to the United States for “further scientific research.” The Russians also obtained a number of such models and conducted extensive studies of their biological effects.

2. American engineer Percy Spencer first noticed the ability of microwave radiation to heat products and patented microwave oven. At the time of the invention, Spencer was working for the company Raytheon, which manufactures radar equipment. The patent for the microwave oven was issued on October 8, 1945 ( which makes version #1 quite viable, but not the main one).

The world's first microwave oven "Radarange" was released in 1947 by the company Raytheon and was not intended for cooking, but for quickly defrosting food and was used exclusively by the military (in soldiers' canteens and canteens of military hospitals).

However, application microwave ovens It was banned for some time in the Soviet Union. The USSR published an international warning about substances harmful to health, biological and environmental, resulting from exposure to microwaves. Eastern European scientists also identified the harmful effects of microwave radiation and created strict environmental restrictions on their use.

3. that in its issue dated June 13, 1941, a note described a special installation that used ultra-high frequency currents for processing meat products and was developed in the magnetic wave laboratory of the All-Union Research Institute of the Meat Industry, which indicates the primacy of the USSR in this invention. IN THE USSR microwaves began to be produced in the early 80s. A search on the website of the newspaper “Trud” brings up , but it itself is not available...

“The first special installation, which makes it possible to use ultra-high frequency currents for processing meat products, was developed in the magnetic wave laboratory of the All-Union Research Institute of the Meat Industry, and, as the journalist describes, in this unit it was possible to melt fats, cook sausages, defrost meat.

And, for example, cooking a ham took only 15–20 minutes instead of 5–7 hours using existing technology. In addition to the time benefit, economic benefits are also emphasized - cutting production costs by half and improving product quality.

So why was this miracle installation, which would have been several years ahead of its American counterpart, not put into mass production? There may be many reasons for this, but the main one, apparently, was the war that struck our country eight days later. Whether those who were involved in the development survived, history is also silent.”

Modern research:

Microwaves are dangerous for children!

Some of the amino acids L-proline, which are part of mother's milk, as well as milk formulas for children, are converted under the influence of microwaves into d-isomers, which are considered neurotoxic (deform the nervous system) and nephrotoxic (toxic to the kidneys). It is a tragedy that many children are fed on artificial milk substitutes (baby formula), which are made even more toxic by microwave ovens.

Scientific data and facts

In a comparative study "Cooking in the Microwave", published in 1992 in the USA, states:

“From a medical point of view, it is believed that introducing molecules exposed to microwaves into the human body has a much greater chance of causing harm than benefit. Microwave food contains microwave energy in molecules that is not present in traditionally prepared foods."

A short-term study showed that people who consumed cooked in microwave oven milk and vegetables, the composition of the blood changed, hemoglobin decreased and cholesterol increased, while in people who ate the same food, but prepared in the traditional way, the state of the body did not change.

Swiss clinical trials

Dr. Hans Ulrich Hertel participated in a similar study and worked for many years in one of the large Swiss companies. Several years ago, she was fired from her position for disclosing the results of these experiments.

In 1991, she and a professor at the University of Lausanne published a study showing that food cooked in microwave ovens may pose a health risk compared to food prepared using traditional methods. The article was also presented in the magazine “Franz Weber” No. 19, where it was said that atconsumption of food prepared in microwave ovens, has a malignant effect on the blood.

At intervals of two to five days, volunteers received one of the following meals on an empty stomach:

raw milk
the same milk, heated in the traditional way
pasteurized milk
the same milk heated in the microwave
fresh vegetables
the same vegetables cooked traditionally
frozen vegetables, defrosted in the traditional way
the same vegetables cooked in the microwave

Blood samples were taken from volunteers immediately before each meal. Then blood tests were performed at certain intervals after taking milk and plant products.

Significant changes were found in the blood at meal intervals exposed to microwave oven. These changes included a reduction in hemoglobin and changes in cholesterol composition, especially the ratio HDL(good cholesterol) and LDL(bad cholesterol).

The number increased lymphocytes(white blood cells). All these indicators indicate degeneration. In addition, part of the microwave energy remains in food, consuming which a person is exposed to microwave radiation.

Radiation leads to the destruction and deformation of food molecules. creates new compounds that do not exist in nature, called radiolytic. Radiolytic compounds create molecular rot- as a direct consequence of radiation.

As soon as Dr. Hertel And Dr. Blank published the research results, officials responded instantly. A powerful trade organization, the Swedish Home and Electronics Electronics Association (FEA), struck in 1992. They forced the president of the Seftigen County Court of Berne to issue an order banning the publication of research materials. In March 1993 Dr. Hertel was accused of collaborating with commercial entities and was banned from further publication of research results. However Dr. Hertel stood his ground and fought this decision for many years.

On August 25, 1998, this decision was overturned after a trial that took place in Strasbourg (Australia). The European Court of Human Rights found that there was a violation of rights in the 1993 decision Dr. Hertel. The European Court of Human Rights also recognized that the order banning public disclosure of information on the health hazards of microwave ovens Dr. Hertel by a Swiss court in 1992, violated the right to freedom of speech. Moreover, Switzerland was ordered to pay Dr. Hertel compensation.

Microwave manufacturers claim that microwaved food does not have much difference in composition compared to traditionally processed food. But not a single public university in the United States has conducted a single study on the effects of modified food in a microwave oven on the human body.

But there is a lot of research about what will happen if the door microwaves not closed. Isn't this a little strange? Common sense dictates that attention should be paid to what happens to food cooked in a microwave oven. One can only guess how molecular rot from the microwave will affect our health in the future!

Microwave carcinogens

In a magazine article "Earthletter" in March and September 1991, Dr. Lita Lee, provides some facts about the operation of microwave ovens. In particular, she stated that everything microwaves have leaks of electromagnetic radiation, and also deteriorate the quality of food, converting its substances into toxic and carcinogenic compounds. The research summaries summarized in this article show that microwaves, cause much more harm than previously imagined.

Below is a summary of Russian studies published Atlantis Raising Educational Center in Portland, Oregon. They say that carcinogens were formed in almost all food products exposed to microwave irradiation. Here is a summary of some of these results:

Cooking meat in a microwave oven creates a known carcinogen -d Nitrosodienthanolamines
Some of the amino acids found in milk and grain products have been transformed into carcinogens.
Defrosting some frozen fruits changes their composition glucoside galactoside carcinogenic substances.
Even a short exposure of fresh, cooked or frozen vegetables to microwaves converts alkaloids into carcinogens.
Carcinogenic free radicals were formed by exposure to plant foods, especially root vegetables. Their nutritional value was also reduced.

Russian scientists also discovered a decrease in the nutritional value of food when exposed to microwaves from 60 to 90%!

Consequences of exposure to carcinogens

Creation of cancer agents in protein compounds - hydrolysate. In milk and cereals these are natural proteins that, under the influence microwaves break apart and mix with water molecules, creating carcinogenic formations.

Changes in elementary nutrients result in disorders in the digestive system caused by metabolic disorders.
Due to chemical changes in foods, shifts in the lymphatic system have been noticed, leading to degeneration of the immune system.
Absorption of irradiated food leads to an increase in the percentage cancer cells in blood serum.
Defrosting and heating vegetables and fruits leads to the oxidation of the alcoholic compounds they contain.
Exposure of raw vegetables, especially root vegetables, to microwaves promotes the formation of free radicals in mineral compounds, causing cancer diseases.
Due to eating foods prepared in microwave oven, there is a predisposition to the development of cancer of intestinal tissues, as well as general degeneration of peripheral tissues with the gradual destruction of the functions of the digestive system.

Direct proximity to a microwave oven

According to Russian scientists, it causes the following problems:

Deformation of the composition of the blood and lymphatic areas;
Degeneration and destabilization of the internal potential of cell membranes;
Disturbance of electrical nerve impulses in the brain;
Degeneration and decay of nerve endings and loss of energy in the area of nerve centers both in the anterior and posterior central and autonomic nervous systems;
In the long term, the cumulative loss of vital energy, animals and plants that are within a radius of 500 meters from the equipment.

Serial production of furnaces started by the company Raytheon in the USA in 1949. First serial household microwave oven was released by a Japanese company Sharp in 1962.

And this is the graph from which the study of the issue and the writing of this article began. I would be grateful for links to similar graphs on oncology in other countries.

Microwave

Microwave oven

Microwave- a household electrical appliance designed for quick cooking or quick heating of food, as well as for defrosting food. Operates at a frequency of 2450 MHz. Unlike other devices (for example, an oven or a Russian oven), food is heated in a microwave oven not from the surface, as in a classic oven, but through most of the volume, since radio waves penetrate deep enough into almost all food products. This significantly reduces cooking time.

Precautionary measures

If the furnace operates without load, the radiation is not absorbed in the chamber; it has to be absorbed inside the source, which leads to overheating and damage to the furnace. If the oven load is too small, it is recommended to additionally put a glass of water in the chamber to absorb excess radiation.

Microwave radiation cannot penetrate metal objects, so you should not cook food in metal containers. If the metal utensils are closed, then the radiation is not absorbed at all and the oven may fail. Cooking in an open metal container is, in principle, possible, but its efficiency is less (since radiation does not penetrate from all sides). In addition, sparks may occur near the sharp edges of metal objects.

It is undesirable to place dishes with a metal coating (“golden border”) in a microwave oven - a thin layer of metal is strongly heated by eddy currents, this can destroy the dishes in the area of the metal coating. At the same time, metal objects without sharp edges, made of thick metal, are relatively safe in the microwave.

You cannot cook liquids in hermetically sealed containers or whole bird eggs in a microwave oven - due to the strong evaporation of the water inside them, they will explode.

It is dangerous to heat water in a microwave, because it is capable of overheating, that is, heating above the boiling point. A superheated liquid can then boil very sharply and at an unexpected moment. This applies not only to distilled water, but also to any water that contains few suspended particles. The smoother and more uniform the inner surface of the water container, the higher the risk. If the vessel has a narrow neck, then there is a high probability that when it starts boiling, superheated water will spill out and burn your hands.

Device

Main components of a microwave oven:

microwave source
- magnetron high voltage power supply
- control circuit
waveguide for transmitting microwaves from the magnetron to the chamber
a metal chamber in which microwave radiation is concentrated and where food is placed, with a metallized door
auxiliary elements
- rotating table in the chamber
- circuits that provide security (“blocking”)
- a fan that cools the magnetron and ventilates the chamber to remove gases generated during cooking.

Story

Currently, the microwave oven is one of the most popular household electrical appliances.

Myths about microwave ovens

There is a persistent claim that an iron plate can allegedly provoke a high-power explosion (in fact, in the worst case, it will cause damage to the magnetron due to sparking).
They say that it is supposedly dangerous to approach a working microwave oven, since the body’s own cells and tissues “feel” radiation from this device (in fact, radiation from a working oven is limited by standards to 5 mW per cm² at a distance of 5 cm from its surface - this is significantly less than the radiation level considered harmful to health).
A microwave oven changes the molecular structure of foods, which can result in your genes being damaged or getting cancer. If you eat food from a microwave oven every day, then according to this erroneous opinion, “freak children” may be born (early experiments with the separation of substances by microwave radiation ended in failure - it only led to heating, since this radiation is not ionizing).
If you keep a microwave oven on for a long time at high power, its powerful electromagnetic radiation can damage all electrical appliances within a radius of several meters. In fact, its electromagnetic radiation is no more than from the back wall of the computer system unit, although close to it it can still interfere with the reception of a cell phone signal at a close frequency. The oven also interferes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Federal sanitary rules, norms and hygienic standards

2.2.4. PHYSICAL FACTORS OF THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT

2.1.8. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Hygienic requirements for the placement and operation of transmitting radio engineering facilities

SanPiN 2.1.8/2.2.4.1383-03

Maximum permissible levels of energy flux density in the frequency range 300 MHz - 300 GHz depending on the duration of exposure

When exposed to radiation for 8 hours or more, the MPL is 0.025 mW per square centimeter, when exposed to radiation for 2 hours, MPL is 0.1 mW per square centimeter, and when exposed to 10 minutes or less, Remote control - 1 mW per square centimeter.

How does a microwave oven work?

It's quite simple. The phenomenon of heating by microwave or microwave electromagnetic radiation (usually with a frequency of 2.45 GHz) of substances containing water, or more precisely, its dipole molecules (on one end there is a positive charge and on the other - a negative charge) is used.

Microwave, or ultra-high-frequency (UHF), radiation is electromagnetic waves with a length of 1 millimeter to 1 meter. Let us note that these waves also exist in nature; they are emitted by the Sun. The wavelength in a microwave oven is 12.25 cm.

Direct heating of the products occurs due to the very rapid movement of molecules under the influence of electromagnetic radiation, microwaves generated by a special emitter - a magnetron - and entering the working chamber through a sealed metal waveguide.

The electromagnetic field in which food molecules are located changes polarity almost five billion times per second, which causes the molecules to “tumble” at breakneck speed, and heat is generated from friction between them.

Appearance versions

Precisely versions, because there are several of them. In addition to the official, “American” one, there are others that are less often remembered.

Daddy Spencer

Percy LeBaron Spencer is an American engineer who worked in the forties of the twentieth century at Raytheon, which is still alive and well today - the Pentagon's largest supplier, developer and manufacturer of Patriots and Tomahawks.

Spencer was then engaged in the development and manufacture of radars and their components, and one fine day, as it later turned out, for housewives all over the world, while testing another magnetron (microwave generator), he noticed how hot the sandwich, for some reason lying on the operating device, became very hot.

cooking" magnetron at one of the meetings on Raytheon's entry into the consumer market and received approval from management. So the microwave is more likely the fruit of systematic work than an accident.

The method of cooking food using microwaves was patented (patent number - 620.919), and in 1947 Raytheon introduced the first microwave oven - the Radarange. It weighed more than 300 kg, was 180 cm high, had a power of 3000 W (almost three times more than modern models), was water-cooled and cost a huge amount of money at the time - $5000 (multiply by 10–11 and get the equivalent price Nowadays).

The product was clearly not mass produced. Initially, the oven was purchased by the same US Department of Defense - for quickly defrosting food in soldiers' canteens and in the kitchens of military hospitals. Hotel and restaurant owners also showed some interest in Radarange and installed them in ship galleys.

Japanese trace

The Japanese also had a hand in “microwave cooking”. In fact, they even overtook the Americans by starting mass production of the Sharp R-10 in 1962 (demand, however, was sluggish), while in the States the first mass model appeared five years later. In 1966, Sharp developed the now familiar turntable, which significantly improved the quality of cooking and defrosting food. In 1979, the same company presented the first microwave oven with microprocessor control, and in 1999 - with access to the Internet .

Made in USSR

There is also an opinion that the birthplace of the microwave is the Soviet Union. Relatively recently, on May 17, 2011, the Trud newspaper reported that just before the start of the Great Patriotic War, on June 13, 1941, it published a note “A new method of cooking meat,” which described the installation developed at the All-Union Research Institute of Meat Industry for heat treatment meat products, using ultra-high frequency currents for this purpose.

It was a kind of prototype of a microwave oven. Perhaps, if the war had not happened a little over a week later, our country would still be considered its homeland. But everything turned out differently, and after the war the USSR had no time for microwaves.

However, much later, in the 80s of the twentieth century, our country had its own production of microwave ovens from Japanese components: at the ZIL (Moscow) and Yuzhmash (Donetsk) factories.

Alien visitor

For dessert - a version about the alien origin of the microwave oven. There is one. According to it, the technology was borrowed by the Americans from aliens as a result of the famous Roswell incident. In 1947, an alleged UFO crashed or was shot down in New Mexico (the US Air Force does not officially confirm this when talking about a weather balloon). And there, on board an alien ship, along with immediately classified aliens, they allegedly found our heroine - a microwave oven, in any case, the technological solutions that formed the basis of her work.

Of course, there is no official confirmation of this version. The Roswell incident is now more of a part of American pop culture, although there are still debates about how it really happened, whether it was aliens or a secret military experiment.

Massive conquest of kitchens

Microwaves took their first steps into American homes in 1955, when local household appliance manufacturer Tappan (later purchased by Electrolux), using Raytheon's own developments and technologies, introduced a version of the microwave oven for home use. But these steps are still timid - the device still turned out to be cumbersome, still unclear to Americans, and although it cost less, it was still expensive for those times - $1,295.

The American company Litton Industries (still exists today - the largest manufacturer of military equipment in the United States) also did a lot in the middle of the last century to promote microwave ovens to the masses. It is Litton that we owe for the appearance of models of the format that is now considered a classic: small in height, but relatively wide and deep.

The first truly popular microwave appeared in the United States in 1967 and was a joint product of Raytheon and Amana. It cost about 400 dollars. It was 50 years ago that the microwave boom began in the United States. By 1975, sales of microwave ovens were already about 1 million units per year.

At first, Japan surpassed the United States in percentage terms in the distribution of microwave ovens. In the early 70s, already 17% of Japanese families used a microwave oven at home on a daily basis, and in the USA - only 4%. But within a few years, such stoves were working in the kitchens of 14% of American families. By the end of the seventies, it was already in more than 50% of kitchens in the United States and overtook the dishwasher in popularity.

The microwave oven is the savior of many modern kitchens. For those who live a hectic life and suffer from lack of time, this is a great find.

We no longer have to stand near the stove and wait for hours for our dinner to cook. Now we can simply cook and heat up ready-made dishes in the microwave, and watch how it spins on a special dish for some time.

There is a wide, impressive and actually quite tasty selection of foods on the market that can be quickly cooked in these ovens in a matter of minutes.

A Brief History of the Microwave Oven:

The invention of the microwave was not something out of the ordinary that happened in isolation - it was an adaptation and fusion of previous technologies.

It has quite an interesting and exciting history. It was during World War II that two scientists invented the magnetron - essentially a tube that produced microwaves. The magnetron was used in the British radar system to allow microwaves to identify Nazi planes heading to Britain on bombing campaigns.

Happy accident

It was only a few years later that it was discovered that these microwaves could actually cook food. In 1946, Dr. Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, was conducting a research project in the field of radar. When he was experimenting with a new magnetron, it fell on the scientist’s pocket containing chocolate, and as a result it melted.

He tried another experiment by placing popcorn cubes next to a tube - the result was that they popped up all over his laboratory. He conducted a similar experiment with an egg that was cooked and then exploded before his eyes.

It was a springboard for further scientific curiosity and experimentation: could microwaves be used to cook other foods?

The idea was quickly adopted by engineers who were interested in making sure Spencer's newly discovered capabilities were useful and practical. The patent was filed in October 1945 for a microwave oven that heated food using microwave energy.

This led to the creation of the first microwave oven, the Radarange, in 1947. It was a large stove, 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, weighed 750 pounds (340 kg), and cost just over $5,000.

Modifications were made such that in 1954 a model was sold that used 1600 watts and sold for $2000.

1967 saw the launch of a popular home microwave model priced at $495. Initial sales were slow—largely due to the high price of the appliance—but the concept became firmly ingrained in the public's mind, and the reality and practicality of fast cooking actually emerged.

Modification Matter

Further changes were made to microwave oven design in the 60s. Unveiled at the Chicago trade show, the microwave oven received even more exposure and generated further interest and popularity, with US unit sales rising to over a million by the mid-70s.

The microwave was even more popular in Japan and sales were faster - they were able to make less expensive units by reverse engineering the cheaper magnetron.

A combination of further mastering and developments in technology resulted in a microwave oven that was ultimately a higher quality, smoother, more efficient product and at a price that was more affordable for the average consumer's pocket.

Warnings and Myths

As with any new technology or invention, there is always a certain degree of suspicion, doubt and even fear - and the microwave was no exception.

Radiation poisoning, impotence, infertility, brain damage and blindness were blamed on the latest kitchen technology.

However, by the mid-70s, the pros far outweighed any perceived cons, and consumers defied the naysayers (and also proved them wrong) to enjoy the benefits of microwave cooking.

Sales growth

This overwhelming wave of enthusiasm and sales meant that cooking habits around the world were changing - with an emphasis on energy efficiency and time saving. Once considered a luxury, it now seems like a necessity for the busy and fast-paced lifestyle of the modern consumer.

And by the end of the 70s, advances were made in microwave technology as prices fell sharply.

Modern microwaves

Nowadays there are microwave ovens that suit almost everyone in size, shape, design and color of every kitchen. In addition, additional functions such as grill and convection cooking mean that the microwave oven is versatile and meets the needs of the modern household in a way that would not have been possible many years ago.