Over90% of households in the U.S. owned a microwave as early as 1997, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And it’s not just the United States. The appliance is a go-to for a quick bite to eat for many around the globe. Over 30 million microwave ovens are sold around the world each year, according to the Microwave Technology Association.
Many inventions are the result of a race to create a product with a certain function, but did you know the microwave was invented entirely by accident?
The microwave was invented in 1945 by Raytheon engineer Percy Spencer, as evidenced by his patent for a “Method of treating foodstuffs.”
But Spencer was not seeking food-related inventions. As an employee of defense technology company Raytheon, Spencer only made the connection to food when a radar magnetron accidentally melted a nut clusterhe kept inhis pocket to feed squirrels, according to The Sun.
According to Popular Mechanics, Spencer and his team then tested the machine using an egg, which exploded, and popcorn kernels, which popped, before applying for a patent for the device.
Raytheon released the “Radarange,” the firstcommercially available microwave oven, in 1947. According to Raytheon, they cost between $2,000 and $3,000 and were stored in refrigerator-size cabinets.
How do microwaves work?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, these appliances heat food using microwave radiation, a form of electromagnetic wave that can be produced by a magnetron.
Encyclopedia Britannica notes that these waves can only heat particles located near the outside of a food item. The centers of your microwaveable products heat up via conductive transfer of heat.
Are microwaves safe? Do they cause cancer?
Microwave radiation isnon-ionizing radiation, which means the appliancewill not cause cancer or other worrisome medical conditions, according to WebMD.
The tube was originally used to emit radar signals that could detect enemy aircraft and ships during World War II, but in 1945, American engineer Percy Spencer accidentally discovered its capacity for quickly heating foods.
The microwave was invented accidentally in 1945 by a self-taught engineer named Percy Spencer, who was leading a radar project for the defence giant, Raytheon. While testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron, he discovered that a chocolate bar in his pocket had melted from the heat.
Due to their price, microwave ovens didn't become popular until the late 1970s when technology advanced and prices went down. By the late 1990s, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nine of every ten American homes owned a microwave oven.
In 1945 engineer Percy Spencer was researching radar at the Raytheon company. He stopped for a minute in front of a magnetron, an electronic vacuum tube that generates high-frequency radio waves. Suddenly feeling a strange sensation, he noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket was melting.
The microwave oven was invented accidentally, when a test for a magnetron melted an engineer's snack in 1946. Raytheon engineer Perry Spencer had a “knack for finding simple solutions to manufacturing problems,” a current engineer at the same company says. Today, more than 90 percent of American homes have a microwave.
Percy Spencer developed and patented the first microwave oven after noticing that a magnetron was emitting heat-generating microwaves during an experiment with radar in 1945. The first models were huge—about 6 feet in height and weighing more than 750 pounds.
According to historical information from the Smithsonian Institute, the early models were 6 feet tall and weighed 750 pounds. Microwave ovens became available for home use in the late 1960s. Affordable, compact microwave ovens for households became more widespread in the 1970s.
If you wanted to reheat leftovers quickly in 1985, you could get an 0.8-cubic-foot microwave from Sears for about $240. You'd nuke your budget at the same time, though, as that's the equivalent of $585 today. Sears now offers a similar model for $70.
In today's world, the first microwave's price tag of $2,000–$3,000 would equate to the price of a brand new car – approximately $18,000-$27,000 (according to dollartimes.com). That high figure stopped families from mass-adopting the microwave until 1971, when the price became a little friendlier at $329–$450.
Employed by Raytheon at the time, he noticed that microwaves from an active radar set he was working on started to melt a Mr. Goodbar candy bar he had in his pocket.
A microwave oven (commonly called a microwave) is a machine that cooks food using microwaves, a type of radio wave. The idea was invented when a scientist who was experimenting with radio waves saw his chocolate bar, which was in his pocket, had melted.
Sears shoppers in 1972 could pay $220 for a clothes washer and $90 for an electric dryer, for a total of $310 — $2,178 in today's dollars. Both are cheaper today: Sears lists top-loading washers for $550 to $1,100, and electric dryers for $530 to $1,000.
In 1955, the Tappan Stove Company—under a licensing agreement with Raytheon—brought the first consumer microwave ovens to the U.S. market with a price tag of $1,300.
Developed by Tappan in conjunction with Raytheon, the RL-1 was the first microwave oven designed for home use. With a retail price of $1,295, only 34 units were manufactured in 1955, the first year of production. The company sold a total of 1,396 units before production ended in 1964.
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