HELP! can you explain this to me? 10 points 10 points...........?

Question

Microwaves with certain wavelengths are absorbed by water molecules and can be used for cooking. Water in the food absorbs the microwave radiation, which causes the water to heat up and cook the food. The water in living cells can also absorb microwave radiation. As a result, they can be killed or damaged by the heat released.

Answer 1

A magnetron in the microwave oven generates the microwaves.Waves can be reflected as they are by the walls of the oven or metal cookware, they can be transmitted as they are through paper or glass and they cn be absorbed as they are in food. They make the molecules in the food vibrate faster. The definition of temperature is average kinetic energy of the molecules, in other words , how much are they moving? The microwaves make them move faster. Microwaves in an oven are about 4 inches long and can not get out the little holes in the door. Their energy is changed to heat. This heat is used to cook the food. It is quicker because it is direct.

Answer 2

The effects of heating by microwave radiation are just that:  Heating.

Raising the temperature of any living cell beyond a certain level causes damage to it.  This is the reason why many foods are cooked in the first place, to damage / kill bacteria which would otherwise be pathogenic when consumed.

Cooking non-living things causes changes in cell structure too.  For instance, a baked potato.  The heat causes breakdown of the starch-containing tuber cells.  The subsequent release of the starch yeilds that yummy fluffy potatoey goodness without the crunchy cellular structure around it.

Cooking using microwave radiation is fundamentally no different to cooking by any other means.  It is simply a different way of transferring energy to the food in order to cook it.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Dont think there are any effects.. It just gives energy to the water molecules causing them to vibrate and cause heat..

Answer 4

It can kill off any bacteria that has managed to get into the food, as the microwave rays and the heat will reach temperatures that will kill them, like the bacteria in living cells