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CONTENTS

Certificate
Acknowledgement
Introduction
Principle
Design
Power Consumption
Heating Efficiency
Bibliography
CERTIFACTE

This is to certify that this


investigatory physics project on
MICROWAVE OVEN is done under
my guidance and presence by
ABHISHEK AGRAWAL of class XII C
within the sripulated time in
academic year 2014-15.

Subject Teacher
(Dr. Alka Gupta)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

It is my duty to record my sincere thanks


and deep sense of gratitude to my
respected teacher Dr. Alka Gupta for his valued
guidance , interest and constant encouragement. I
would alsopay gratitude to our lab assistant
Mr.Ramesh Gaba for the fulfillment of the project.
Introduction
A microwave oven, often colloquially shortened to
microwave, is a kitchen appliance that heats food
by bombarding it with electromagnetic radiation
in the microwave spectrum causing polarized
molecules in the food to rotate and build up
thermal energy in a process known as dielectric
heating. Microwave ovens heat foods quickly and
efficiently because excitation is fairly uniform in
the outer 2538 mm (11.5 inches) of a dense (high
water content) food item; food is more evenly
heated throughout (except in thick, dense objects)
than generally occurs in other cooking techniques.
Principle
A microwave oven heats food by passing microwave
radiation through it. Microwaves are a form of non-
ionizing electromagnetic radiation with a frequency
higher than ordinary radio waves but lower than
infrared light. Microwave ovens use frequencies in one of
the ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) bands, which are
reserved for this use, so they don't interfere with other vital
radio services. Consumer ovens usually use 2.45 gigahertz
(GHz)a wavelength of 12.2 centimeters (4.80 in)while
large industrial/commercial ovens often use 915
megahertz (MHz)32.8 centimeters (12.9 in). Water, fat,
and other substances in the food absorb energy from the
microwaves in a process called dielectric heating. Many
molecules (such as those of water) are electric dipoles,
meaning that they have a partial positive charge at one
end and a partial negative charge at the other, and
therefore rotate as they try to align themselves with the
alternating electric field of the microwaves. Rotating
molecules hit other molecules and put them into motion,
thus dispersing energy. This energy, when dispersed as
molecular vibration in solids and liquids (i.e., as both
potential energy and kinetic energy of atoms), is heat

The electric dipole consists of two charges of equal


magnitude but opposite sign separated by a distance 2a,
as shown in Figure.
The electric dipole moment of this configuration is defined
as the vector p directed from q to +q along the line
joining the charges and having magnitude 2aq:

= 2

Now suppose that an electric dipole is placed in a uniform


electric field E, as shown in Figure 26.20. We identify E as
the field external to the dipole, distinguishing it from the
field due to the dipole. The field E is established by some
other charge distribution, and we place the dipole into
this field. Let us imagine that the dipole moment makes
an angle with the field.

The electric forces acting on the two charges are equal in


magnitude but opposite in direction as shown in Figure
26.20 (each has a magnitude F = qE) Thus, the net force
on the dipole is zero. However, the two forces produce a net
torque on the dipole; as a result, the dipole rotates in the
direction that brings the dipole moment vector into
greater alignment with the field. The torque due to the
force on the positive charge about an axis through O in
Figure 26.20 is Fa sin , where a sin is the moment arm of
F about O. This force tends to produce a clockwise rotation.
The torque about O on the negative charge also is Fa sin
; here again, the force tends to produce a clockwise
rotation. Thus, the net torque about O is

Because F = qE and p = 2aq we can express as

It is convenient to express the torque in vector form as the


cross product of the vectors p and E:

We can determine the potential energy of the system of an


electric dipole in an external electric field as a function of
the orientation of the dipole with respect to the field. To do
this, we recognize that work must be done by an external
agent to rotate the dipole through an angle so as to cause
the dipole moment vector to become less aligned with the
field. The work done is then stored as potential energy in
the system of the dipole and the external field. The work
dW required to rotate the dipole through an angle d is
dW= d (Eq. 10.22). Because = pE sin and because the
work is transformed into potential energy U, we find that,
for a rotation from i to f , the change in potential energy
is

The term that contains cos i is a constant that depends on


the initial orientation of the dipole. It is convenient for us
to choose i = 90, so that cos i = cos 90 = 0. Furthermore,
let us choose Ui = 0 at i = 90 as our reference of potential
energy. Hence, we can express a general value of U = Uf as

We can write this expression for the potential energy of a


dipole in an electric field as the dot product of the vectors
p and E:

In this case, once we rotate the dipole through angle ,


the system tends to return to the original configuration
when the object is released. The dipole begins to rotate
back toward the configuration in which it was aligned
with the field.

We can understand the permanent polarization of water


by inspecting the geometry of the water molecule. In the
water molecule, the oxygen atom is bonded to the
hydrogen atoms such that an angle of 105 is formed
between the two bonds (Fig. 26.21). The center of the
negative charge distribution is near the oxygen atom,
and the center of the positive charge distribution lies at a
point midway along the line joining the hydrogen atoms
(the point labeled X in Fig. 26.21). We can model the
water molecule and other polar molecules as dipoles
because the average positions of the positive and negative
charges act as point charges. As a result, we can apply our
discussion of dipoles to the behavior of polar molecules.

Dipole Moments of different substances in food

Water p = 6.210-30 Cm

Sunflower oil p = 2.00710-30 Cm

Olive oil p = 1.95710-30 Cm

Palm oil p = 1.926 10-30 Cm


Design
A microwave oven consists of:

A high voltage power source, commonly a simple


transformer or an electronic power converter, which
passes energy to the magnetron
A high voltage capacitor connected to the
magnetron, transformer and via a diode to the
chassis
A cavity magnetron, which converts high-voltage
electric energy to microwave radiation
A magnetron control circuit (usually with a
microcontroller)
A short waveguide (to couple microwave power from
the magnetron into the cooking chamber)
A metal cooking chamber
A turntable or metal fan

Modern microwave ovens use either an analog dial-type


timer or a digital control panel for operation. Control
panels feature an LED, liquid crystal or vacuum
fluorescent display, numeric buttons for entering the cook
time, a power level selection feature and other possible
functions such as a defrost setting and pre-programmed
settings for different food types, such as meat, fish, poultry,
vegetables, frozen vegetables, frozen dinners, and popcorn.
In most ovens, the magnetron is driven by a linear
transformer which can only feasibly be switched completely
on or off. As such, the choice of power level does not affect
the intensity of the microwave radiation; instead, the
magnetron is cycled on and off every few seconds. Newer
Power Consumption
A microwave oven converts only part of its electrical input
into microwave energy. An average consumer microwave
oven consumes 1100 W of electricity in producing 700 W of
microwave power, an efficiency of 64%. The other 400 W are
dissipated as heat, mostly in the magnetron tube.
Additional power is used to operate the lamps, AC power
transformer, magnetron cooling fan, food turntable
motor and the control circuits. Such wasted heat, along
with heat from the product being microwaved, is
exhausted as warm air through cooling vents.

For cooking or reheating small amounts of food, the


microwave oven may use less energy than a cook stove.
Although microwave ovens are touted as the most efficient
appliance,[19] the energy savings are largely due to the
reduced heat mass of the foods container.[20] The
amount of energy used to heat food is generally small
compared to total energy usage in typical residences in
the United States.
Heating Efficiency
Microwave heating is more efficient on liquid water than
on frozen water, where the movement of molecules is more
restricted. Dielectric heating of liquid water is also
temperature-dependent: At 0 C, dielectric loss is greatest
at a field frequency of about 10 GHz, and for higher water
temperatures at higher field frequencies.

Microwave heating can cause localized thermal runaways


in some materials with low thermal conductivity which
also have dielectric constants that increase with
temperature. An example is glass, which can exhibit
thermal runaway in a microwave to the point of melting if
preheated. Additionally, microwaves can melt certain
types of rocks, producing small quantities of synthetic lava.
Some ceramics can also be melted, and may even become
clear upon cooling. Thermal runaway is more typical of
electrically conductive liquids such as salty water.

A common misconception is that microwave ovens cook


food from the inside out, meaning from the center of the
entire mass of food outwards. This idea arises from
heating behavior seen if an absorbent layer of water lies
beneath a less absorbent drier layer at the surface of a
food; in this case, the deposition of heat energy inside a
food can exceed that on its surface. This can also occur if
the inner layer has a lower heat capacity than the outer
layer causing it to reach a higher temperature, or even if
the inner layer is more thermally conductive than the
outer layer making it feel hotter despite having a lower
temperature. In most cases, however, with uniformly
structured or reasonably homogenous food item,
microwaves are absorbed in the outer layers of the item at
a similar level to that of the inner layers. Depending on
water content, the depth of initial heat deposition may be
several centimetres or more with microwave ovens, in
contrast to broiling/grilling (infrared) or convection
heatingmethods which deposit heat thinly at the food
surface. Penetration depth of microwaves is dependent on
food composition and the frequency, with lower microwave
frequencies (longer wavelengths) penetrating further.

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