Microwave oven is one of the greatest inventions of this century. The history of the microwave oven dates back to 1946, when Dr. Percy Spencer, an engineer at the Raytheon invented it, quite by chance. While working with radar, Dr. Spencer noticed that the candy in his pocket had melted. He was very surprised and decided to conduct some more experiments with popcorn and eggs. With his experiments he concluded that the microwave technology could be used to cook food. It was not only Raytheon that was working on microwave technology in the 1940s. Since the use of radiation for heating was well known at that time, other companies like General Electric were also exploring different ways to use microwave technology in different types of industries.
Dr. Spencer And The Microwave Oven
Dr. Spencer designed a metal box. A small opening was made in the box to supply microwave energy to it. Since the box was enclosed, the electromagnetic energy was confined to a very small area. This led to a sudden increase in temperature inside the metal box. Thus, any food kept inside the box could be cooked faster and more easily.
The idea of cooking with microwaves was patented by Raytheon in 1946. Many engineers worked on the idea to design the microwave oven. The first microwave oven was used in Boston restaurant. The oven was tested successfully.
The year 1947 is considered very important in the history of microwave ovens because the first commercial oven came into the market in that year. It was 5-6 feet tall and 2 feet wide. It weighed around 700 pounds. This oven was quite huge as well. The cost of this microwave oven was $5000. The magnetron tube had to be cooled in those days. So, the users required plumbing stations too.
With all its problems, the microwave ovens did not receive good reviews at that time. It was not very efficient and was also costly. But with changing designs and technology in the next few years, people started using microwave ovens. The food industry started exploring different methods of using it to realize its full potential. The countertop microwaves came in the market in the 1960s.
One of the main problems with microwaves was their uneven heating. So Spencer and his colleague did more experiments to modify the internal cavity of the oven and succeeded. The history of microwave oven shows that many a times great inventions are made by just by chance!