Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [microwaves]

A kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating accomplished with radiation used to heat polarized molecules in food.

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Does microwaving food create particles that are not created when warming food by conventional means?

I was reading "Szlachetne Zdrowie" (No 7/2019) which is a Polish health magazine released by "Nasz Dziennik", which is a Catholic, very conservative newspaper of questionable quality. I read the chapter about microwaving written by Barbara Zielonka.…
Learner
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Is food cooked in a microwave oven harmful for the health?

A colleague of mine just made a comment about cooking food in a microwave oven. According to him it is considered to be harmful to one's health. Is it true?
Boris Pavlović
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Can standing in front of a microwave oven give you cancer?

I was heating up some lunch in the microwave oven at work a few weeks ago, and peered into the window to see if my soup was bubbling yet. At that point a coworker walked into the lunch room and exclaimed "Get your head away from the microwave,…
morganpdx
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Can you test for microwave leaks by putting a cell phone inside and calling it?

I heard as long ago as 2003 that trying to call a cell phone while it's inside a microwave (with the microwave off, of course) could be used to test if the shielding of the microwave was intact. I recall trying it and that it worked (the phone did…
Hendy
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Can microwaved water explode?

Some time ago I read a warning that microwaved water can "explode" under certain circumstances. There was one case as an example where someone heated water in the microwave, took it out and then it "exploded" causing him to be burned. Can something…
Mad Scientist
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Did the Soviet Union ban microwave ovens in 1976?

Some anti-microwave evangelists make the claim that the USSR banned microwave ovens in 1976 following a study which raised health concerns. Sometimes an additional claim is made that the ban lasted into the 90s. This sounds like an urban legend to…
James
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Do harmful chemicals migrate from the container into the food if you microwave the food in a plastic container?

In a comment to the best answer to question 582, Muhd writes: "I would add that it is also unhealthy if you microwave in something that is not microwave safe as toxic chemicals could migrate into the food from the container (e.g. from most…
Henry
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Does microwaving breast milk cause dangerous hot spots?

I was almost eaten alive by my wife after she found out I heated our baby's dinner in a microwave. The concern is that microwave heating is uneven and it could make a super hot spot in breast milk or formula that could burn the baby's mouth. Baby…
bestander
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Is 2.4GHz IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) Dangerous?

Over the years, I've heard (and read about) various dubious claims and doubtful allegations regarding the dangers of WiFi & 2.4GHz wireless ISM band communications in general. The stories typically presented themselves with the tell-tale signs of…
voices
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Does microwaved water kill plants?

I have seen this story a couple of times in my facebook newsfeed and it strikes me as highly unlikely. The story goes: Below is a Science fair project presented by a girl in a secondary school in Sussex. In it she took filtered water and divided…
mulllhausen
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Can you recharge a phone battery in the microwave?

Claim from Facebook: Did you know? A smartphone microwaves for just one minute will fully charge the battery. Lifehacker insists it's fake, and I know it is, but I figured it'd be a useful one to have someone explain the scientific basis or…
Mark Mayo
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Are microwave hot-spots real?

So, this was originally a part of this question, but from the comments it seems like it might be beneficial to branch it. I have been told that the microwave left "hot spots" — areas in a fluid which were substantially(?) warmer than the…
cwallenpoole
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Are secret U.S. army tests to blame for TV presenters speaking gibberish?

I've seen this suggestion made in several places; here's one. Around the time of April 2011, several US news presenters or personalities descended into speaking gibberish on national TV. Some have "cited an on-air experiment broadcast some years…
Jez
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Does placing metal inside the microwave damage the microwave?

It's practically common knowledge that microwaving metal objects can damage the microwave. I've heard this multiple times, mostly from my mom, and I've always believed it to be true. But is it? Would the microwave really be damaged by just…
Gabe12
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Was the microwave discovered by finding food cooked in a pocket?

Percy Spencer, just after the end of World War II, was working on a power tube for the Raytheon Corporation. Nothing might have come of it, if it weren’t for one heroic chocolate bar that gave its life for modern society. The magnetron was designed…
Evan Carroll
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