MidnightDreamer

1.) First off, I was just wondering: When you guys microwave stuff, do you cover your food up with saran wrap before putting it into the microwave? My mom religiously does it, she says you need to use saran wrap to protect the food from radiation or sumthing. (I think she's crazy) I myself think that the microwaves go right through the saran wrap. My friend said that the saran wrap would melt into the food and I would get cancer... (He's probably crazy too...) Don't you need water molecules to cook stuff in a microwave?

2.) My friend says he'd be able to pace me in his 1988 4dr Corolla with the 3 speed auto. I'm not gonna say he can't, but somehow I have my doubts. Do any of you guys have numbers to back up my hypothysis? 0 - 60's, 1/4 miles, things like that.

Thanks in advanced.

carguycw

1) I cover my food but it has nothing to do with radiation. If you don't cover it, some food will splatter and cook onto the walls of the oven, and the mess is really hard to clean up later.

2) He is dreaming. I am guessing 0-60 in 13+ seconds, quarter mile in the high 18's-low 19's. Tell him to stick to challenging Geo Metros and 80's Mercedes turbodeisels.

UCSBgeek

to both

Felix Wankel

I cover mine with a paper towel so I don't have to clean the microwave.

Yes he probably could pace you, if you both drive your cars off a cliff at the same time

leungwingkei

Noooooo!
Does that mean standing too close to the microwave will make you absorb the microwaves?? Since the plastic door won't shield microwaves.

leungwingkei

Oh and btw does the wrap melt? Won't the microwaves cause the plastic particles in the wrap to rub together, make it overheat and melt it? Or are the microwaves no strong enough??

KpaBap

But the door has a metal mesh so it stops something like 99.9% of the radiation. Sure if you stand next to the microwave for an hour you might get a little warmed up (most likely not). Boo-hoo...


The wrap melts not because it itself has been warmed up but because heat has transfered from the food to the wrap. No, the microwaves do not make the plastic molecules rub together. Plastic molecules are quite large as compared to water/fat molecules (which microwaves are tuned to affect).

God, it's all in your user's manual :P

P.S. The 3-speed corollas are ghey.

Farsyde

i think the mesh stops all microwaves. If it didnt then even that little amount getting into your eyes which are more than 80% water would kill them when you stare at the hypnotic spinning food.

Whiteboy22584

hey now i own a 96 3 speed corolla Automatic and Run 16.4 in the 1/4th

cjstringer

If all it took was Saran Wrap to keep things from getting radiation through them, I don't think ANYONE would be worried about Nuclear weapons other than the immediate blast.
That's funny, but no where near correct. It basically does what everyone says, keeps you from having to clean up a mess. Paper towel does the same thing.
While you're at it, you shouldn't stand within 5 feet of a microwave while it's on either. The radiation waves can interfere with your hearts electrical impulses, and have been known to cause serious issues with heart transplant patients and people on pacemakers. That's no joke.
Saran wrap to guard against radiation, now that's funny!

Farsyde

microwaves are a far cry from anything related to nuclear fallout. The radiation waves waves don't hurt regular hearts because there is no conductive metal that can convert the microwave to an electric impulse. However, pacemakers are full of neat little electronics that can be "nuked" pretty effectively.

kc5zom

All a microwave is boils down to a big radio. A thousand watt dose, that close to the transmitter, would kill you or burn you at pretty much any frequency. They make amateur radio operators do signal effect checks (I forget the exact term) on their towers now to comply with FCC rules. The mesh is designed to stop those radio waves, although some interference still leaks out. What does leak out has nowhere near 1000 watts of power left it in anymore, so you are fine.

Farsyde

yeah i bet 1000 watts would cook you good if you stood in front of it for a very long time. I really hope noone is taking off the screens on the microwaves though.

Radio towers i would be afraid of. But they are (FM towers that is. Microwaves are generally very low powered by comparison) more along the 10,000-50,000watt range. Generally placed pretty far from civilization though.