ABSTRACT
The microwave oven is a time-saver in the kitchen at home. It is possible to heat things quickly and easily. The observation that microwave energy can heat food was ™rst made by accident. Percy Spencer, an employee of the Raytheon Corporation was working on the development of radar equipment when he discovered that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. The next day he brought some popcorn from home and placed it close to the radar equipment and found that it quickly popped. Development of the microwave oven grew out of these observations and, by 1947 Raytheon was selling them. The original microwave ovens were about six feet (1.8 m) high and weighed in excess of 750 lb (340 kg). They cost $2,000-$3,000 to buy. The ™rst popular home microwave oven was launched in 1967 and it is now estimated that over 200 million microwave ovens are in use in homes around the world.
