Thank you Google Answers!
To understand the reason why an ant survives in a microwave oven is to understand the way a microwave oven works. A microwave oven emits a form of energy called ‘standing waves”. That is to say that evenly spaced, stationary waves of energy bombard the turntable (or plate) in a vertical fashion so that only specific areas of the turntable are struck by the waves. Everything inside the microwave is not necessarily exposed to the waves, especially when the turntable is motionless. This is why you notice that certain portions of your food are well heated while others remain cold whenever the turntable is not moving. The sole purpose of the moving turntable is to ensure that all areas of the food pass through the stationary ‘standing waves”. Increasing the intensity of the microwave oven doesn’t turn up the heat, it activates more ‘standing waves” in a given area of space.
The physical size of an object has little to do with its susceptibility to microwave generated heat. In fact, chemists use microwave technology to heat sub-micron particles. The ant’s size only comes into play because he is able to navigate between the ‘standing waves’ by sensing the areas where there is high volume heat and low volume heat. You can visualize the patterns of low heat v. high heat by filling a paper plate with marshmallows and putting them in the oven with the turntable turned off. After a few seconds you will see a pattern of melt or blistering on the marshmallows that are exposed while the others seem unaffected. Additionally, the intensity of the waves is greater in some areas than in others. You can see this by putting a pat of butter on the surface of the turntable and another on the bottom of an overturned paper cup. The one on the cup will melt long before the one on the turntable, because the wave intensity is lower near the bottom and sides of the oven than it is at various points elevated just above the turntable (where food heaped on a is plate usually located).
A single ant, or even a few ants, can simply walk around between the waves of energy, making their way from one safe area to the next, and avoid getting nuked. If, on the other hand, you put a thousand ants in your microwave and agitate them so that they are running around in a panic, you will, without a doubt, see many of them turned to toast.
“Ant Like Microwaves”
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf127/sf127p07.htm
“The Zoh Show - Ants Can Survive Microwaves”
http://www.zohshow.com/News/Newsbytes/tidbits022700.htm
“The New Scientist”
http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?id=lw594
To understand the reason why an ant survives in a microwave oven is to understand the way a microwave oven works. A microwave oven emits a form of energy called ‘standing waves”. That is to say that evenly spaced, stationary waves of energy bombard the turntable (or plate) in a vertical fashion so that only specific areas of the turntable are struck by the waves. Everything inside the microwave is not necessarily exposed to the waves, especially when the turntable is motionless. This is why you notice that certain portions of your food are well heated while others remain cold whenever the turntable is not moving. The sole purpose of the moving turntable is to ensure that all areas of the food pass through the stationary ‘standing waves”. Increasing the intensity of the microwave oven doesn’t turn up the heat, it activates more ‘standing waves” in a given area of space.
The physical size of an object has little to do with its susceptibility to microwave generated heat. In fact, chemists use microwave technology to heat sub-micron particles. The ant’s size only comes into play because he is able to navigate between the ‘standing waves’ by sensing the areas where there is high volume heat and low volume heat. You can visualize the patterns of low heat v. high heat by filling a paper plate with marshmallows and putting them in the oven with the turntable turned off. After a few seconds you will see a pattern of melt or blistering on the marshmallows that are exposed while the others seem unaffected. Additionally, the intensity of the waves is greater in some areas than in others. You can see this by putting a pat of butter on the surface of the turntable and another on the bottom of an overturned paper cup. The one on the cup will melt long before the one on the turntable, because the wave intensity is lower near the bottom and sides of the oven than it is at various points elevated just above the turntable (where food heaped on a is plate usually located).
A single ant, or even a few ants, can simply walk around between the waves of energy, making their way from one safe area to the next, and avoid getting nuked. If, on the other hand, you put a thousand ants in your microwave and agitate them so that they are running around in a panic, you will, without a doubt, see many of them turned to toast.
“Ant Like Microwaves”
http://www.science-frontiers.com/sf127/sf127p07.htm
“The Zoh Show - Ants Can Survive Microwaves”
http://www.zohshow.com/News/Newsbytes/tidbits022700.htm
“The New Scientist”
http://www.newscientist.com/lastword/article.jsp?id=lw594
3 comments:
Although the answer could be mostly right, it's mostly for the not-quite right reasons and I have a few issues. Like calling standing waves a "form of energy"--only loosely speaking. As for whether size matters, it does: microwaves in an oven are always absorbed by rotation motions of molecules (definitely sub-micron sized). Etc.
Most microwaves have stirring "fans" to break up standing waves, in addition to using turntables for more even cooking. What's the water content of an ant? It's sounding to me more like they just don't absorb much energy at microwave wavelengths.
It would be wonderful for a certain rocket scientist (no, not sarcastic, he really IS a rocket scientist!!!) to give us more detail.
As a premise, assume an ant in a microwave without a turntable, and the any having enough cooperative skills to remain still while we turn the microwave on...
Also, does the size of the ant matter? I would assume it does, since it would interact with the size of the standing waves as well as having higher water content.
The size of the ant would matter if the ant is absorbing microwaves and if staying in microwave null spots is the operative survival mechanism.
Microwaves in m. ovens have a wavelength of about 12 cm, so that's the length to keep in mind. If the m. oven has standing waves, the nodes (spots with little m. energy density) would be about that far apart. That's about twice the length an ant would have to walk on average to find a "cool" spot. Also, since ants are maybe half a cm in length, or 1/24th the wavelength, they should be able to stay in a "cool" spot -- if one exists. Note: the small holes in the viewing window on the front door are a small fraction of the m. wavelength, and the cooking chamber is otherwise surrounded with conducting material, all of which keeps the m.s trapped inside.
An engineering friend believes the oven is a resonant chamber, designed to create standing waves. I disagree and my understanding is that manufacturers of modern oven go to great lengths to prevent "cool" spots.
The m. radiation is absorbed by polar molecules, mostly water; it goes into a rotational mode of the molecule, which leads to heating whatever is around the water molecule.
So, does an ant find a "cool" spot (a node in the standing waves)? The sizes correspond but most modern m. ovens are built to avoid that life-saving strategy.
If there is a cause to explain, it's seeming more likely to me that 1) ants don's have much water internally to absorb the energy; 2) ants have a wide temperature tolerance range; or 3) perhaps the carapace of an ant is conducting and m. energy doesn't penetrate.
Gosh, thanks for asking.
Post a Comment