Is it bad to look into a microwave while on?

Question

Some people say it's bad to look through the microwave window while you have something cooking inside. Is this true? If so, how is it bad?

Answer 1

not bad at all...the grill inside (its full of holes) breaks up the microwaves, making them harmless

p.s. to the guy that mentioned the Faraday Cage...that is for protecting electrical equipment from lightning and electrostatic discharges...

Answer 2

They say the wavelength is bigger than the holes, and the waves won't get through, but its the plastic that makes all the difference. My friend had an old one with no plastic, and as an engineer, he guaranteed that the waves would not escape, but I sure trust that extra bit o plastic.

But you can try this,.. put your eyes up to the plastic in front of the holes, and watch the food cook for one minute, then quickly look in a mirror, you will see (or maybe not.. then ask a friend) that your eyes' corneas will look like a poached egg white. This occurs because the end of the sine wave of most waves bounce off the grill, but some actually do manage to poke through the centres of the holes when they are on the ascent or descent of the wave. An analogy is of you hold a pin (bent into a curve like a sine wave) and poke it at the grill. eventually it will pass through the grill even though the overall length of the pin is greater than the hole width ie v = lambda . freq

Good luck

Answer 3

There is no harm in looking into a microwave oven, as long as you're looking through the screen window.

The interior of the microwave is almost completely lined with metal, as well as the metal screen in the window. When the microwave is on, the metal actually has electricity passing through it, making the interior of the microwave a very effective Faraday cage.

And, since the holes in the screen are actually smaller than the wavelength of the microwaves themselves, the microwaves will never break through the screen.

Answer 4

The microwaves are one to two cm in size. The holes in the screen are one fifth that size if that. Microwaves cant make it through the screen.
If you want proof, then fill a glass bottle up to the brim with no room for air bubbles. Then put a cork or better a rubber stopper in to the top of the bottle. Make a second bottle identical to the first.
Place one bottle next to the microwave and one in the next room. You will see both bottles will be exactly the same after several hundred runs.

Answer 5

With the use it's possible that microwaves (some) leak from the oven. So it's a bad idea to put your pupils (the most vulnerable part of our body to heat!) near the oven.
Idealy, if the microwave oven is perfect, no microwaves escape and, if so, no problem. But it's wise to stay apart as some leak of microwaves coud occour.
So, maintaining a 2 m distance or so of your microwave oven when it's running it's a very wise idea. Or trust your eyes to the frabicant of your microwave oven!

Answer 6

I agree with GPC. There is usually some leakage of microwave energy from a microwave oven, especially when it gets older. Anyone own a 2.4 GHz cordless phone? If it pops and clicks while you're nuking dinner, then you've got proof that your oven is leaking (microwave ovens operate at 2.45 GHz). That said, the leakage level is very low, but it's not a great idea to spend a lot of time flush up against your oven.

Answer 7

No, it is not unsafe at all. However, I don't recommend it, because it can get boring.

The grill in the window is what's called a "Faraday Cage," that blocks energy of certain wavelengths from getting through. And it does its job, I'd say.

Answer 8

It is much worse to be staring OUT of a microwave while on.

Answer 9

No harm in looking but just to let you know, new studies are showing that cooking with plastic is the mike is very dangerous.

Answer 10

It's harmful to stand in front of a microwave while it's on because of the radiation generating from it.