Why can't you put metal into microwaves?

Question

I know that it will explode but why does that happen?

Answer 1

I often heat up stuf in tin cans in the micro, and it does a good enough job not to scoop it onto a plate first. If you put anything with thin metal foil or edging on it into the micro you can expect fireworks though !

Answer 2

I don't know about the metal exploding, but you're not supposed to place metal into a microwave since it tends to reflect microwaves (obviously to various degrees). But since there is more reflection of microwaves than absorption, the metal object and the walls of the microwave oven become charged, and the air inside the oven becomes ionized. This can induce sparking in the microwave, which is the dangerous part.

Answer 3

The metal will reflect the waves instead of absorbing them. This will cause the magnetron in the microwave to conduct too much current and could cause it to fail.
If you put iron in the micro like on a twist tie, it will glow read hot and catch the paper on fire.

If you noticed, you can put TV dinners in a microwave. They say to keep the metal away from the sides of the micro. That way the waves can be reflected back to the food and it will heat the food.

Personally, I keep all metal out of the microwave.

Answer 4

Metals don't explode. The microwaves will cause currents in the metal which will produce high voltages which will make sparks and potentially damage the oven.

Answer 5

its not that you explode the microwave as such. microwaves heat food by vibrating the water molecules in the food at high speed causing heat. Metal in a microwave causes the wavelengths to reflect back to the magnetron (the thing that produces them) and damages it.

Answer 6

because the metal does not allow the microwaves to pass through it and creates a closed circuit that generates a spark. Can damage the electrical element in your microwave or even worse cause a fire.

Answer 7

You can.

My microwave came with metal plates and metal racks, and it does just fine with metal in it.

Some older models could not cope with the reflected microwaves, which can bounce back to the magnetron and damage it - but it does NOT explode.

Answer 8

i know its long...but its good explanation!!!

When you look in a mirror, your image is bouncing off of metal. The back of a mirror is coated with aluminum. (Older mirrors were backed with silver.) Not only do metals conduct electricity, like when electricity runs through wires to lights and video games; they also reflect electrical waves that hit them from outside their surfaces. It may seem a little bit complicated, but I’d bet you’ve already seen it. Electricity runs through wires, and the wires are shiny. They reflect light. It’s the way of the Universe.

The energy of light, heat, x-rays, radar, and in a microwave oven is what we call “electromagnetic” energy. It’s electrical and magnetic at the same time. We can think of this energy as moving like a ray of light. We say it’s “radiant.” It “radiates.” So, microwaves are “electromagnetic radiation.” So is sunlight and heat and radar and television signals. They’re all forms of the same thing. We have discovered that we can think of this electromagnetic radiation as traveling in waves. When the waves are short, they bounce off of metals, like light off of your mirror. When the waves are longer, they transfer energy into the metal, like the waves hitting a radio antenna on a car. Radio and television waves bounce off of you and trees and buildings and cars. Light waves are few tenths of a millionth of a meter long. Radio waves are a few meters long. That’s quite a difference. Well, microwaves are somewhere in between. They’re about 10 centimeters long, about as long your hand or a watch band unhooked. These waves are in between in how they behave around metals, too.

Microwaves happen to not pass right through water. Nor are they completely reflected by water. So, when we put something with water in it in the path of microwaves, say a potato or popcorn kernel, the water molecules start tumbling and jostling like crazy. The energy of the rubbing water molecules turns to heat. Your potato or popcorn heats up. When these waves hit metal like the aluminum foil or gold paint, the metal absorbs the microwaves like an antenna. The energy doesn’t turn to heat, roughly because metal is not water. (You know that, too.) The microwave energy has to find a place to go. It usually forms sparks that jump from air molecule to air molecule all the way back to the metal sides or bottom of the oven. Where the sparks comes and goes from the aluminum foil or metal paint, it gets hot. The energy is concentrated. It often burns a tiny hole or pit in the metal. It’s energy just looking for a place to spread out. It can’t; so, don’t put metal in a microwave. It’s a bit like people who travel in waves at the speed of light. Wait maybe microwaves aren’t like people. Oh well, they’re part of our world just like you.

Answer 9

it is not that it will explode, unless you leave it in for a long time,
but it eould spark as microwaves and electricity would dance across it.
it would get really hot, and when metal gets hot, depending on what it is, it could shatter.