Microwaves have become the magic server of every kitchen in today’s world. People state them as the most reliable and trustable kitchen appliance that serves their needs in no more than a few minutes.
However, we have always been warned about what to use in microwaves to heat the food. Because whenever we are hungry, we tend to put any material, be it plastic, metal, or ceramic, in the microwave and get our job done. While plastics and ceramics are still considered safe in a microwave, what about metals?
Can you put metal in the microwave?
No, the simple recommendation would be not to use any metal containers or utensils to heat up your food in a microwave. Metals are not like other materials such as plastics and ceramics that allow electromagnetic waves to pass through. Instead, metals reflect those waves and charge up electrical current, which leads to sparks and crackles. Furthermore, the charged-up electrical currents can result in fire, igniting anything in the oven. And this is especially valid when the metal objects have thin, sharp edges.
However, we often use metals in a microwave, be it knowingly or unknowingly. So, it can be confusing to understand how metals actually affect the working of a microwave. But don’t worry, the points below might help you overcome your doubts.
How do microwaves work?
Before getting into metals, let us first understand how a microwave works. Microwaves do not function like other conventional heating systems with heating elements to heat themselves up and produce hot air to heat up the food. What microwaves have is a magnetron.
The magnetron helps produce electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 2.45 GHz into the food cavity. These waves then excite the molecules in the food, especially the water molecule, to vibrate and produce heat just as we do while rubbing our hands against each other.
So, when we put neutral material containers like plastic or ceramic, they allow the waves to pass through them and reach the water molecules of the food. But when we put a metal container inside, it becomes a different story.
Metals in a microwave
Metals are a material that themselves have electrons on their surface. So, instead of allowing the waves to pass through or absorb it, they reflect it, which is the very reason why a microwave itself has metals fitted inside to keep the waves confined. Thus, when a metal container is put inside, the waves unable to pass through the dense metal surface results in charged-up electrons.
These charged-up electrons then build an electrical current, which gets transferred to nearby surfaces, that is the metal inside the microwave, which increases the danger of overheating, possibly leading to fire. This is especially the case when the objects have sharp edges like forks because electrons tend to move up and collect at the sharp ends, resulting in arching and eventually fire.
So, metals are a big no when it comes to microwaving. However, there may be some exceptions when it comes to microwave-safe metals. Also, some flat metal objects can work better than most. It is because they are not close to the microwave circuits and also contain no sharp edges.
Nevertheless, it is better to avoid using one at all to stay away from any danger.
