What is a Magnetron Tube?

How It Works

• The magnetron takes regular household wall voltage and scales it up to even higher voltages. Through a series of magnetic coils, antennas and filaments, a series of magnetic fields are used to alter the flow of electrons, creating microwave radiation. This radiation excites the water molecules in the food. The resulting friction from this increased movement generates heat.

Original Uses

• When it was initially created by the General Electric company in the early 1920s the magnetron tube was not used to heat food. Its first use was as a form of radar for the detection of enemy submarines by the United States military.

First Use With Food

• Scientists working with the magnetron tube first noticed in the 1940s noticed that chocolate candy melted in their pockets when working near the magnetron tube in a laboratory. An egg placed near a magnetron tube soon exploded. It was then that the potential for use with food was discovered. The first microwave oven was created in 1947 by Dr. Percy Spenser. This first microwave oven weighed 700 lbs. and cost $5,000 to construct.