Microwave: far beyond the popcorn

Do you still believe that microwave oven mainly serves to prepare popcorn or reheat food? You don’t know what you’re missing.

Do you know how does a microwave oven works? It’s simple, it emits waves like that of a television antenna or a mobile phone. These waves change polarity thousands of times per second and also change the polarity of the molecules that they find, especially water, sugar and fat. The changes are so fast that generate heat, so it cooks foods from inside out and the walls and the plate of the oven remain cold.

But the good old microwave can do much more. Can you tell exactly when the food is ready? It’s hard to know with accuracy if the food is freezed inside. Mark Rober, former NASA engineer, solved the problem with an infrared camera, also known as thermal camera, and a screen that he coupled to the oven. The camera captures the temperature variations in food. It ranges from blue where is cold until the white when hot, and the screen shows the images from the camera. The next step is to connect the camera to the smart phone, so that the user does not have to be in front of the equipment while waiting for the meal.

How about a microwave on your table? Instead of waiting in line at the office kitchen to heat the pot or eat something cold, the Brainwave, created by the designer Steve Gates, allows you to heat your lunch in the comfort of your desk. It is small, works plugged in via USB and turns into a whiteboard when stored in the upright position. It also recognizes the product being heated, programming the time and appropriate temperature if the fork with RFID tag that goes with is used.

Another curious invention is the “inverse microwave”, the Enviro-Cool V-Tex cools rather than heat. A drink at room temperature can reach 5° C in 45 seconds. At the moment this is just a prototype, but who knows in the future we will exchange those coolers full of ice for a high-tech gadget? So, are you convinced already?

References: PubMed, Fine Dining Lovers, Behance