Radiation from microwave ovens

Recently, the incident that using microwave ovens to heat food can cause cancer has been widely discussed on the Internet. In fact, regardless of whether using microwave ovens to heat food can cause cancer or not, there is another aspect of microwave ovens that we should pay attention to, which is its radiation. According to some studies, the radiation from microwave ovens is much higher than that from other household appliances, so it is recommended that friends pay attention when using them.

The emergence of microwave ovens has indeed reduced a lot of burden on the kitchen. In normal times, it can not only be used to heat up leftover rice and leftovers, but also to make some delicious food. Especially in the company, the lunch you bring to the office is always more nutritious when heated in the microwave than the food you buy outside. But since microwaves are a form of radiation, many people naturally think that they can cause cancer. Some people may even recall that when taking an X-ray in the hospital, there is a sign on the door saying "Keep away from radiation." In fact, this is not on the same level at all. Microwaves are a type of electromagnetic wave, essentially the same thing as the radio waves used in radio and telegraph, infrared rays, and visible light. The only difference between them is the frequency.

The frequency of microwaves is higher than that of radio waves, but lower than that of infrared and visible light. Since radio waves and visible light do not cause cancer, it is not difficult to understand that microwaves with frequencies between them will not cause cancer either. In fact, the "radiation" mentioned here refers to the energy of microwaves that can be emitted, which is completely different from the radiation produced by X-rays and radioactive isotopes. Although X-rays are also electromagnetic waves, their frequency is much higher than that of microwaves, so their energy is also high. Radioactive isotopes emit particles during the decay process, so they can cause cancer in organisms. After microwave energy is absorbed by food, it is converted into heat and will not make the food "radioactive" or "contaminated".

Radiation is everywhere in our lives

In fact, in our daily lives, electronic products such as mobile phones, televisions, and computers all generate radio waves. If we compare the harm caused by microwave ovens horizontally, it is the same as that caused by computer radiation and mobile phone radiation. Moreover, the frequency of use of microwave ovens is far lower than that of mobile phones and computers. The harm caused by them is actually much smaller than the harm caused by long-term use of mobile phones and computers.

Radiation is everywhere in our lives, so do we really need to worry about it? First of all, we need to know that radiation is divided into ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation. The energy derived from radiation depends on the frequency. The higher the frequency, the greater the energy. Ionizing radiation has energy that can ionize atoms and molecules, while low-energy non-ionizing radiation does not.

This means that radiation from microwave ovens does exist, but it does not really cause cancer to the human body. However, for special groups of people, such as pregnant women and people with pacemakers, it is better to stay away from microwave ovens, because these radiations may cause harm to the young fetus and affect the frequency of the pacemaker.