Dose the microwave really send out waves of radiation??

Question

I really want to know.

Answer 1

The term radiation has a negative connotation to the general public. It is typically associated with nuclear radiation.

If you are worried about mircowaves then you should be concerned about radio waves, cell phone signals and the light you can see. They are all exactly the same physical phenomenon. It's called electromagnetic radiation and the difference between radio waves, microwaves to x-rays is the wavelength of the radiation. Radio waves are long wavelength radiation of a few meters (low energy), visble light is higher energy (750nm (red) to 400nm (blue)) and x-rays are even shorter wavelength (<10nm) and even higher energy. The shorter the wavelength the more dangerous the radiation is to humans. Gamma-rays, cosmic rays etc... would all be considered ionizing radiation. When the wavelength becomes short enough (or the energy high enough) EM radiation and nuclear radiation is considered the same thing.

Answer 2

Define what you mean by "radiation". If you mean radioactive radiation, such as comes from nuclear bombs or reactors, which is what a lot of people who don't trust microwaves believe, the answer is NO.

Radiation is anything that radiates. Feel the heat off your car engine right after you park? That's radiation in the infrared range. The light from a lamp is radiation in the visible range. Your car radio picks up electromagnetic radiation in the high and very high frequency ranges. Power lines emit an extremely low electromagnetic radiation. Even your cell phone emits radiation around 900 MHz. But none of these in this paragraph qualify as radioactive.

If you are worried about your microwave, which emits electromagnetic radiation like your cell phone, tv stations, and radio stations, then just don't stand near it when it's running.

Answer 3

Yes, a microwave actually sends out waves of radiation, which have a wavelength in the micrometer (millionth of a meter range) and a frequency of (typically) 2.45 GHz. However, unless tampered with or poorly constructed, the microwave will not "leak" radiation outside of the cooking area.

Answer 4

will background microwave radiation in the universe ever turn into radio waves? So since the big bang there has been loads of backround radiation in the universe, and over time it has been from gamma radiation, through the electromagnnetic spectrum and out to microwaves. But, will it ever turn into radiowaves, and if it does tommorrow, will we ever be able to use radio's or TV's?

Answer 5

Yes, but it's only electromagnetic radiation, not atomic radiation. And, unless the unit is poorly constructed or damaged, all of the radiation stays inside the unit. The holes in the grid in the window of the unit are small enough to not let the radiation out.

Answer 6

That and if it makes you feel any better I believe your concerned about it being radioactive, which, it isn't. Everything emits radiation to some degree.