How ants can survive in a microwave

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of ants surviving in a microwave oven after being exposed to microwaves for a duration of 50 seconds. Participants explore various hypotheses regarding the mechanisms that may allow ants to endure this environment, considering factors such as microwave distribution, heat absorption, and the physical characteristics of ants.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Ravi observes that ants were alive after being microwaved and questions why this occurs, given the assumption that microwaves should cook anything containing water.
  • Some participants suggest that ants may be able to move to cooler spots within the microwave during operation.
  • One participant references Randall Munroe's explanation on XKCD, indicating a preference for humorous or illustrative explanations.
  • There is a discussion about standing waves in microwaves and the potential for non-trivial precession to affect heating patterns.
  • Concerns are raised about the effectiveness of rotating trays in microwaves and whether they contribute to the survival of ants by creating hot and cold spots.
  • A participant recalls older microwave designs that included a fan to stir hot and cold spots, questioning the absence of such features in modern microwaves.
  • Another participant speculates that the lack of precession in microwaves might be an evolutionary adaptation that allows ants to survive.
  • One participant proposes that the high surface-to-volume ratio of small ants may enable them to dissipate heat quickly, thus avoiding cooking.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the mechanisms that allow ants to survive in a microwave, and the discussion remains unresolved with no consensus reached.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various assumptions about microwave operation, such as the distribution of heat and the physical properties of ants, without fully resolving these points or providing definitive explanations.

rxyzm
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Hello,
This is a question that is haunting me when I saw small red ants go in and come out alive of microwave oven that was.

Long story short, I was warming some food item in the microwave oven. When I put the container in the microwave oven, I missed to notice that there were few live red ants in the container.

I heated the container for 50 seconds and then took out the container. When I opened the lid of the container, I saw the red ants coming out alive from the container.

My understanding was, if one puts anything in microwave that contains water, it will get cooked. I also think, for all carbon based life forms, water is an essential ingredient for blood to flow; and, that's why one should ensure that their hand is not in the microwave when it is on.

I am wondering why ants remained alive in the microwave even when they were blasted for 50 seconds?

Warm Regards,

Ravi
 
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rxyzm said:
Warm Regards,
:smile:
 
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Randall Munroe has very good explanation on XKCD with comics! ...I always prefer this kind of thing when I can get away with it.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/131/
 
The explanation with the standing waves was the first thing that came to my mind as I've read the OP. Now this leaves us with a fundamental problem: Why don't they produce microwaves with a non-trivial precession, e.g. by elliptic plates?
 
fresh_42 said:
The explanation with the standing waves was the first thing that came to my mind as I've read the OP. Now this leaves us with a fundamental problem: Why don't they produce microwaves with a non-trivial precession, e.g. by elliptic plates?

Isn't that why the tray rotates? If you put your dish off center on the tray, it should hit both hot and cold spots. Rotating trays also makes it more challenging for ants.
 
anorlunda said:
Isn't that why the tray rotates? If you put your dish off center on the tray, it should hit both got and cold spots. Rotating trays also makes it more challenging for ants.
I'm not sure. If the low is always at the same point, I get concentric warm - cold circles in the round soup tureen. Why should I think about positioning a cup or plate against what architecture suggests, if it could be easily solved by fabrication?
 
I seem to remember older microwaves that had a slowly rotating fan in the ceiling with metal blades. I presumed it was there to stir the hot /cold spots. It was too slow to move air.

I don't see those in modern microwaves. I don't know if they are not needed or just moved out of sight.

I think @jim hardy is experienced at taking old microwave ovens apart.
 
I just had another thought on why there is no precession. It is to enable ants to survive!
 
  • #10
anorlunda said:
:smile:
Welcome.
:biggrin:
 
  • #11
Hot spots or cool spots, it would seem impossible for all three ants to avoid being cooked. Considering a moving dish and the fan, maybe one might survive, but three? This would seem on the order of Spock saying to Kirk that the odds of us making it are 1,321 to 1. Then they make it. Does anyone thing that there is something about the ants that we simply don't know?
 
  • #12
One if the links above had an explanation that appeals to me:

This would probably best apply to small ants.
A small ant has a high surface to volume ratio, compared to that of the unusual size of things you might microwave. Its volume it juicy innerds is what will be doing the absorbing of the microwaves and making heat (which will be small), but it will be their relatively high surface area that might be able to transfer the heat to its environment as fast as it is generated.
 

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