A Closer Look at Microwave Pizzas & Their Cardboard Disks

[Chronos]

Fluffy the steel wool up a bit and add a tiny bit of graphite powder under it [pencil lead shavings].

 

[theriddler876]

Okay, I put a broken bulb into my microwave (for about 2 seconds), and it lit up, as expected. Now, I'm almost certain it's the ionization of the gas that does it..

if it's a broken bulb it there will be no gas but regular air in it, since it diffused out, the microwaves are the exact frequency for tungsten so it exites it's electrons to a diffrent orbital, and as they go down to ground state, or a diffrent orbital it emits a photon.

also the argon gas is inert and is only added there so the metal filament will not react. if you put regular air (ie oxygen-nitrogen) mix, the filament most surely will react with the oxygen quickly and it wouldn't last very long. ionization how youre talking about would only apply to neon lights where you have a gas and electricity is run through, but no filament involved

 

[theriddler876]

\ The only way to heat the topping is to take out the disk and put the pizza on a paper towel and then nuke it some more. Why is this?

this is because a microwave works because the frequency of vibration of water molecules is exactly equal that of microwaves, so when you have two alike frequencies and you match them up, you create constructed interference. I mean for example visible light has a lot more engergy than microwaves, but they do not have the right frequency.

this constructive interference then exites the molecules of water so that they heat up. the disk absorbs the microwaves and heats up, then it radiates it's heat onto the pizza, this is how a convention oven works. however the crust heats up at diffrent rates than the topings, which contain a lot of water. so when you take the disk, then the water molecules can get excited since the disk no longer shields them, and thus heat up.

this is how popcorn works. there is water inside the kernel, now the microwaves make the water vibrate higher, since it's the frequency, thus increasing it's engergy, so then this water turns into vapor, and it builds enough pressure to eventually pop the kerne.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Has anyone tried microwaving a flourescent light bulb? I guess finding one that fits would be a challenge.

 

[DaveC426913]

Gramma Chronos' silverware

"...My granny used to dry silverware in her microwave ..."

I can see her missing the light show going on inside the microwave, but once she took her silverware out, didn't she ever wonder about the invisible dwarf woodpeckers that nested inside her microwave and ate holes in the silverware?

(They would have become heavily pockmarked as bits of silver were vapourized.)

 

[cepheid]

Indeed...I threw a plastic jar of peanut butter straight from the fridge into the microwave for around 15-20 seconds, just to make it easier to spread, and next thing I knew there was a popping noise and the whole inside of the microwave was lit up. What was it? A tiny bit of the foil used to seal the top of the jar still left around its rim...

 

[Ba]

Math Is Hard Has anyone tried microwaving a flourescent light bulb? I guess finding one that fits would be a challenge.

Flourescent bulbs, they explode on their own without much trouble, do you really want a microwave bomb.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Flourescent bulbs, they explode on their own without much trouble, do you really want a microwave bomb.

Maybe!

 

[Moonbear]

Wow, this is a fascinating thread! Since I've just loaned out my only spare microwave, and am sure my homeowner's insurance doesn't cover things I explode in the microwave on purpose, I think I'll skip trying any of the demos suggested.

Though, MIH, that silvery thingy is supposed to give you a crispy crust. The people who make those pizzas are supposed to make it just so that you get a hot pizza throughout with a crispy bottom. If the bottom of your pizza is burning while the top is still frozen, look for that questions/complaints number on the box and tell them. They might listen and do a better job getting everything made in a shape/way that will get it to cook more evenly, or, at worst, they do nothing but send you a coupon for a free replacement pizza.

 

[GroupCaptainMandrake]

Not too long back, Mythbusters devoted a segment to fun with microwave ovens. A sheet of aluminum foil did nothing, while a ball of foil generated a light show. Something abou the availability of irregular surfaces. They also took a run at the "explosive water" legend, proving it to be false with regard to ordinary tap water and true with regard to distilled.

Just for luck, I take the Alton Brown approach and put a chopstick in the water to give the bubbles something to climb.

 

[Math Is Hard]

More fun with Microwaves:
http://www.powerlabs.org/uwavexp.htm
the Ball Lightning experiments are fascinating.

I have not heard of this "exploding water" business. Must go find out what that's all about...

Moonbear, you're right. I should see if I can get some free coupons or something from the frozen dinner company.

 

[Gokul43201]

Not too long back, Mythbusters devoted a segment to fun with microwave ovens. A sheet of aluminum foil did nothing, while a ball of foil generated a light show. Something abou the availability of irregular surfaces. They also took a run at the "explosive water" legend, proving it to be false with regard to ordinary tap water and true with regard to distilled.

Just for luck, I take the Alton Brown approach and put a chopstick in the water to give the bubbles something to climb.

Ah...someone else who enjoys Mythbusters and Alton Brown !

 

[Integral]

Within the last week, I was talking to my wife while she heated water for a cup'a. As I watched she removed the cup of hot water from the microwave and introduced a spoonful of powder. The water instantly foamed into a grapefruit sized ball sitting on top of the cup which lasted for only an instant. The end result was that the more then half of the cup of water was on the counter top. If I had not seen it with my own eyes I am not sure I would have believed it.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Integral, what the heck was that powder?

 

[Integral]

Integral, what the heck was that powder?

It was one of the flavors of the International Coffee brand.

She mixes this same thing up nearly everyday, this is the first time an explosion has occurred.

 

[Integral]

if it's a broken bulb it there will be no gas but regular air in it, since it diffused out, the microwaves are the exact frequency for tungsten so it exites it's electrons to a diffrent orbital, and as they go down to ground state, or a diffrent orbital it emits a photon.

also the argon gas is inert and is only added there so the metal filament will not react. if you put regular air (ie oxygen-nitrogen) mix, the filament most surely will react with the oxygen quickly and it wouldn't last very long. ionization how youre talking about would only apply to neon lights where you have a gas and electricity is run through, but no filament involved

I read "broken" to mean burnt out with the bulb still in tact. Argon can be ionized, this should result in emission of light.

Perhaps this should be done with a clear bulb. You could then tell if the light is comming from the gas or the filiment. My bet is on the gas.

 

[slbirla71]

It was one of the flavors of the International Coffee brand.

She mixes this same thing up nearly everyday, this is the first time an explosion has occurred.

Recnetly I have been doing scentifc studies to expalin all these phenomenon by phyiscs governing laws.

when liquid materials are subjected to Microwave, the product temeprature rise continously beyond the boiling point. Once you put external object in the superheated liquid, it breaks down the equilibirum and the liquid starts to boil. In scientic jargon it is called Boiling eruption.

 

[GTrax]

Microwaves are a million times slower than visible light.

Huh? Er.. No! The microwaves I use definitely travel at the speed of light! Maybe you mean the net electron drift in conductors.

 

[KLoux]

Huh? Er.. No! The microwaves I use definitely travel at the speed of light! Maybe you mean the net electron drift in conductors.

I think he was referring to the frequency of the wave.

-Kerry

 

[repollo]

From a microwave pizza to bulbs and what-not in the microwave this is crazy, are you going to start talking Tesla-coils on me now? Cause that would be really interesting...

And to try to revive this thread again because of its interestingness:

All of this weird stuff happens in the microwaves because of the magnetron making the microwaves of course, it would be really interesting too if everyone could start making more complex chemical reactions inside the microwave oven, i.e. gas ionization, extraction of Hydrogen from H2O maybe(not saying is possible, but interesting), who knows maybe someone will revolutionize the way we think about our slacker-cooking-machine, and then everyone will have two MW ovens in their home, one in the kitchen(obviously) and one in the basement lab. That would be really funny making complex reaction with microwaves... anyways ill stop my blatant now and let you guys keep at it...

 

[negitron]

Has anyone tried microwaving a flourescent light bulb? I guess finding one that fits would be a challenge.

Compact fluorescents. You need to snap the base apart and separate the electronics from the tube (usually, you can just pry the base halves apart at the seam with a thin-bladed screwdriver--it just snaps together). The tube alone will not explode. The glass, however, can get very hot and even melt if left in too long. At that point, it'll just pop and all the gas will escape (warning: contains small amounts of mercury vapor) and the show's over.