What would happen if we put a person in a microwave?
By Research
You may have heard ominous stories of living things-such as poor pets, for instance-that went to the microwave for some reason, and the result of this perverse culinary intervention was an incredible bloody mess. But supposing there is a microwave large enough to hold a human inside, what would happen if we put the appliance to work? A blast of flesh and entrails?
For Esther Inglis-Arkell of io9 site , has thought enough about it and reached a conclusion that may surprise some. But to understand the outcome of this macabre analysis, we must first understand a few things about the behavior of currents, electromagnetic waves, and the operation of microwave ovens.
For Esther Inglis-Arkell of io9 site , has thought enough about it and reached a conclusion that may surprise some. But to understand the outcome of this macabre analysis, we must first understand a few things about the behavior of currents, electromagnetic waves, and the operation of microwave ovens.
The skin effect
Imagine an electric current flowing through conductive material. When it is constant - that is, continuous - energy runs uniformly from one point to another through all material. In the case of an alternating current, besides the energy not going through the conductor in a homogeneous way, the direction in which it moves varies over time. In addition, the electric current tends to concentrate near the surface of the material, rarely penetrating into the interior.
According to Esther, this is basically what we call the skin effect, and it becomes more and more apparent as the frequency increases, which means that lower frequencies have more penetration power. Thus, when a certain material is more conductive - or permeable - under the effect of an alternating current, the energy becomes more concentrated on its surface.
In fact, all this helps to explain one of the biggest mysteries of how microwave ovens work: why some foods get extremely hot on the outside and freezing on the inside.
Micro operation
As we explain in a story here of the Mega Curioso, the operation of the microwave oven is based on a series of electronic valves that transform electrical energy into electromagnetic waves. These valves - called magnetrons - were originally designed to integrate military radar systems, and generate high-frequency waves that are typically around 2.5 gigahertz.
This is the ideal frequency to be absorbed by the water molecules present in food, and this energy causes these molecules to vibrate at very high speeds, which in turn generates the heat needed to cook the food. So that's why microwaves do not cook food from the inside out, as most people think - and that's where the film effect comes in.
The waves, in fact, penetrate only about an inch and a half into the food. They are the conductive properties of meat and vegetables, for example, that take care of heating their "core". Exterior elements only carry the heat inland. In this way, the larger the amount of water molecules present in a particular food, the more uniform its heating.
So that's why it's best to cook large pieces of frozen food or food with reduced potency for longer periods to ensure that the food is cooked equally - and not just the outermost layers that are hot.
Cooking human
After clarifying the technical issues of the thing, let's get to the point! According to Esther, the truth is that the experience would not be pleasant. However, if we are considering a common microwave oven, such as the ones we have at home, the damage would probably be mostly superficial.
Imagine that we put a person in such a device. She certainly would not want to spend much time in there, would she? Thus, the food candidate would be exposed to higher potencies for a shorter period, and their internal organs would probably not be cooked during the process.
However, considering that the eyes, for example, have a higher concentration of water than other organs, it may be a good idea for the poor fellow to keep his or her mouth shut!
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