Microwave ovens and their fascinating history are yet another example of how the quest for knowledge and understanding in one area many times leads us to greater understanding in a completely new area with completely new applications. A sterling example of this axiom is the microwave oven, which was born of defense efforts that took place during World War II.
Back then, radar was a fairly new innovation and had been pioneered by the British. Scientists in both the United States and Great Britain were working on ways to improve the efficiency and sensitivity of the radar beam. They eventually came to develop a piece of equipment that produced electromagnetic radiation and was called a magnetron. It greatly improved radar s effectiveness and efficiency.
The next step in the development of the magnetron and also the electromagnetic radiation in the form of microwaves that result from its use took place quite by accident a few years later, sometime around 1945 or so. The scientists happen to be testing a new development in the magnetron and had a candy bar in his shirt pocket. He noticed that it melted when close to the magnetron itself.
This scientist, who was named Percy Spencer, decided to experiment with other foods. He first placed a number of corn kernels in front of the magnetron beam and, of course, popcorn resulted. The next step in the great food experiment was with an egg. Spencer and a colleague placed the egg and focused the beam of the magnetron on it. Not surprisingly, the egg heated up and burst directly in the face of Spencer s colleague, who was standing very close to it.
Seeing this, other company engineers started experimenting with harnessing the magnetron into a shape and form that could cook food. In 1947 the first microwave oven in the world was born. Company engineers and marketing people named it the Radarange, which is a name still popular today. This 6 foot, 750 pound behemoth cost $5000 and was very energy inefficient. It also required water cooling.
By 1954, a greatly reduced in size unit was finally made ready for commercial applications and was sold by the Tappan Company, which had licensed the technology from the original company that developed the magnetron. It also cost upwards of $3000, though a more compact version that ran on 220 volts was produced in 1955. The asking price was $1300, which meant that the oven was doomed to sell poorly.
A great leap forward occurred in 1967, when a model was finally developed that is still very similar to the ovens we use today. It fit comfortably on a countertop and used very little energy. It was also light in weight and sold for about $500. The Radarange name was given to this particular model by Amana, which still owns the name today. Within 10 years, prices had dropped greatly and microwaves seemed to be everywhere.
Nowadays, there is almost no home that doesn t have a microwave of some size or type somewhere in evidence. Also, just about every person knows what a microwave oven is, though they may not have a clue about how its development can be traced directly back to the need to improve radar in World War II. They also may not realize that the discovery of the microwave was basically an accident.
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