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Tech NewsSharp’s New Alexa-Powered Microwave Is Even More Confusing Than Amazon’s
When Amazon released a cheap microwave with built-in Alexa integration, most of us scratched our heads for a second and then quickly moved on. But now Sharp has created its own microwave powered by Amazon’s digital assistant, and somehow it’s even more confounding than the original. Unlike the $60 Amazon Basics microwave with Alexa, Sharp’s … Continued
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SciencePhysics & ChemistryScientists Produce Rigorous Study of Why Grapes Spark in the Microwave
A paper published Monday in a well-known science journal begins with the following sentence: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a pair of grape hemispheres exposed to intense microwave radiation will spark, igniting a plasma.” A universally acknowledged truth indeed… but what causes this microwave marvel? If you’re not familiar, putting grapes into a … Continued
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Tech NewsMicrowave Tech Could Produce 40 TB Hard Drives in the Near Future
We’re all generating data faster than storage providers can keep up, and that problem is only going to get worse. On Friday, Western Digital announced a potential game changer that promises to expand the limits of traditional HDDs to up to 40TBs using a microwave-based write head, and the company says it will be available … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsGadgetsThis Microwave Oven Is the Size of a Thermos
There’s a reason the microwave oven in your kitchen is a heavy brick: it uses a magnetron and vacuum tube technology that dates back to World War II. But since then, microwave technologies have been vastly improved (see cellphone towers) and a company called Wayv in the UK is finally using them to shrink the … Continued
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Tech NewsCan You Really Fix an Election by Steaming Open Absentee Ballots?
Arizona’s been in the spotlight a lot this election year, with the Department of Justice announcing today it’s investigating the too-long voting lines during the state’s primary. Then there’s the accusations of straight-up election fraud: Apparently people are tampering with vote-by-mail ballots using microwaves. Last month, a state bill was proposed to stiffen the penalties … Continued
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SciencePhysics & Chemistry
These Sugar-Based Anti-Reflective Fake Moth Eyeballs Are Not for Eating
Do a quick scan of the journal Applied Physics Letters today, and you’ll find that researchers from Belarus and France have fabricated an anti-reflective coating made from sucrose and modeled after moth eyeballs. It could be manipulating microwaves one day, but right now, it’s just incredibly neat. Though we usually see them clustered around light … Continued
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Tech NewsSploidWatch the scary power of a microwave oven make plasma and burn things
Yowza. Here’s a crazy rigged contraption that uses microwave energy from cavity magnetron to generate plasma and burn the heck out of things faster than you can warm a Hot Pocket. We can see it squeeze out plasma in a lightbulb, shatter glass and make basically anything burn. It’s a neat exercise to show how … Continued
By Casey Chan -
io9
Our Best View Yet of the Galaxy’s Massive Electromagnetic Loop
Scientists working with the Planck Satellite have produced a new polarization map of the Milky Way in microwaves, providing an unprecedented view of a rather dramatic electromagnetic loop discovered over a half-century ago. Above: Loop 1, marked by the dashed ellipse, is the yellow feature above centre, shading to purple, and the purple arc below … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgetsIngenious Infrared Microwave Shows Your Food Change Color As It Heats Up
After watching this video I feel like the best microwave I’ve ever used sucked very badly. What you see here is a concept for the Heat Map Microwave, which would have a built-in IR camera on top and a screen on the front, effectively allowing you to see exactly when your food has been heated … Continued
By Brent Rose -
io9What Would Really Happen If You Put A Human In A Microwave?
The Skin Effect isn’t what it sounds like, but it can help us understand what happens to a human being when they’re exposed to different microwave frequencies. It also explains why your food comes out cold on the inside. Image by Jim Cooke, photo via Winai Tepsuttinun/Shutterstock The Skin Effect and Alternating Current Ever snipped … Continued
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Tech News
China’s New Pain Laser Makes It Feel Like Your Organs Are Boiling
Sure, it looks like somebody strapped a satellite dish to the roof of a box truck and painted it camouflage, but that doesn’t make China’s newest nonlethal weapon any easier to stomach. In fact, take a gut shot from this thing and your stomach will feel worse than a kitten in a microwave. Yet somehow, … Continued
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Tech NewsReal Life Journalist Suing Over the Microwave Scene in American Hustle
Remember that scene in American Hustle when Jennifer Lawrence’s character sticks some metal in the microwave? It starts a fire and Lawrence’s character dismisses the entire technology, claiming that it zaps the nutrition out of food. She even has an article to back up her claim. Now the real life journalist who was quoted for … Continued
By Matt Novak -
io9Microwaving Light Bulbs Is Genuinely Useful (And Entertaining)
I love finding new things to put in the microwave. Say, for instance, an incandescent light bulb, which can test your microwave for a number of issues, besides just looking awesome. Even a non-functioning bulb can work, so dig out the dusty old bulbs you have at the back of the closet. First, find a … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Kid Took Apart a Microwave to Create an Insane (and Stupid) Weapon
So don’t take a microwave apart. Don’t. Take. A microwave. Apart. Don’t do it. Don’t! But if you were curious about what would happen if you did, these idiots have you covered. It’s as awesome as it is stupid! It is very awesome and very stupid. According to Kreosan, the crazy microwave-stick’s creators (and Darwin … Continued
By Eric Limer -
Tech News
This Compact Microwave Is a Must-Have For Your Car
Designer Jake Rich has come up with a better design for the microwave that no longer requires a permanent parking spot on your kitchen counter. His Mediumwave concept has a footprint about the size of a dinner plate, and the traditional metal box form factor of microwaves of old has been improved with a removable … Continued
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Tech NewsWhat Actually Happens When You Put Metal in a Microwave
The rule is as simple as it is ubiquitous: don’t stick aluminum foil in the microwave if you don’t want to have to buy a new microwave. Everybody knows that, right? But, turns out, that old adage might be wrong. The advent of electric refrigeration was a revolution in American gastronomy that made a huge … Continued
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Tech NewsGadgets
A Microwave That Promises To Fry Your Food Without a Drop of Oil
T-fal kicked off the whole “frying foods with minimal oil” trend with its Actifry machine, but who really has room for yet another appliance on their kitchen counter—even if it promises healthier fries and wings? That’s why Samsung has introduced what it calls the Slim Fry feature on its microwaves, adding even more functionality to … Continued
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Tech News
The Perfect Microwave Listens to Popcorn Popping So It Never Burns
Tossing a bag of popcorn in the microwave is much easier than dragging out the hot air popper, except that you have to watch it like a hawk to make sure it doesn’t burn. Alternatively, you can swap out your dated microwave for this new model from Whirlpool that actually listens to the popcorn as … Continued
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io9
Do microwave ovens kill nutrients in food?
There’s a popular conception that microwave ovens zap all the good stuff in our foods, like essential vitamins and minerals. But is it true? The answer is no. And in fact, microwave ovens often retain more nutrients in our food than conventional cooking. All cooking degrades the amount of nutrients in our food, but there … Continued
