Is it water that is heated in a microwave or impurities in the water?

Bryan Byrne · « **on:** 16/02/2009 18:13:58 »

Bryan Byrne asked the Naked Scientists:

Chris,

Listening to you on Second Life right now and having a discussion with someone here about microwaves and water.

Is it water that is heated in a microwave or is it impurities in the water?

Bryan

What do you think?

JP · « **Reply #1 on:** 16/02/2009 19:19:30 »

Short answer: the water.

Longer answer: Microwaves heat food because the microwave (electromagnetic field) causes the molecules in the food to wiggle around. Microwave ovens are designed so that they're most efficient at generating heat in liquid water, but they can cause other molecules to wiggle too: fats and sugars, for example.

You could verify this by microwaving distilled water, which will heat up.

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Is it water that is heated in a microwave or impurities in the water?

Bryan Byrne

Is it water that is heated in a microwave or impurities in the water?

JP

Is it water that is heated in a microwave or impurities in the water?

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