Microwave give off radiation?

[TexasF355F1]

My friends insist that if you stand in front of a microwave while its on, you'll get radiation. I just say 'whatever' to keep from forming an argument. I really don't think this is true b/c i don't think the FDA and whomever else approves microwaves would allow them to be marketed to the consumer if they did. So can anyone shed some light on this for me and tell me whose right and wrong?

[IIwhitexb0iII]

extremly small amounts if any, you have nothing to worry about.

[Shortbus]

Microwaves use radio waves, Its just a myth that you can get radiation poisoning from them. There is no radiation.

Only reason I know is I watched mythbusters on TV the other night and they were doing an episode on microwaves, it was pretty interesting.

[GundamExpo]

I missed that episode of mythbusters, I really wish I had seen it.

Anyway..

Yeah you might recieve some radiation but not in the form of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. Just some electromagnetic radiation. Probably not enough to do any damage. FYI: Electromagnetic radiation is stuff like light, radio waves, microwaves, X-rays, gamma rays.

Microwaves can kill you though if you too large of a dose, simply because they will cook you like how they cook your food in the microwave. I believe there was a stationary radar that the USAF had for detecting incoming nukes from russia, it was powerfull enough that if you stood infront of one of the arrays you would get cooked in 3 or 4 minutes.

[slave]

No they dont give off radiation. And no the glass on the front does nothing. You can remove the glass, its that little metal grill behind the glass that stops the radiation.

As for its dangers, it wont give you cancer etc even if it did nuke you. its non ionising, which basically means it will cook you but wont fuck your cells around. The damage it will do is instant, not something you have to wait for, ie, have a cancerous growth develop etc.

Its the same shit as the RADAR I work on.

[slave]

No they dont give off radiation. And no the glass on the front does nothing. You can remove the glass, its that little metal grill behind the glass that stops the radiation.

As for its dangers, it wont give you cancer etc even if it did nuke you. its non ionising, which basically means it will cook you but wont fuck your cells around. The damage it will do is instant, not something you have to wait for, ie, have a cancerous growth develop etc.

Its the same shit as the RADAR I work on.

Oh and as for the cook you in 3 to 4 mintues, yep easy. Most ships RADAR's can fry you asap too. Our normal ground defence RADAR is enough to make you feel like crying yourself to sleep for a week after its started to heat up the fluids in your eyes. Trust me on this one.

[TexasF355F1]

Thanks guys, I knew I was right about this. And I figured the screen had something to do with stopping the rays. Next time I see them I'll have to make them feel stupid, LOL. Yea I actually did catch that MythBusters tonite. Pretty neat show.

[replicant_008]

A microwave operates because the magnetron emits a particular narrow wavelength of electro-magnetic radiation that 'excites' the food molecules creating heat.

Electro-magnetic radiation (EMR) has different properties depending on the wavelength - visible light is a example of EMR which for the most part is non-harmful. Infra-red radiation which can transmit heat is another form of EMR and UV beyond the other end of the visible light spectrum is a form of EMR that can be potentially harmful.

Whilst non-ionising radiation (ie stuff that doesn't charge your molecules from chemically stable ones to unstable ones) of the type that a domestic microwave uses isn't as harmful as ionising radiation in the form of X-Rays, Gamma Radiation etc - your average domestic microwave appliance has a number of safety features including the safety interlocks on the door that trip the power source to the magnetron when opened and the aforementioned aperture grill.

The safety devices like the precautions that radio and radar technicians operate with when repairing and maintaining devices are there for a reason. They serve to limit the exposure to the EMR to a predetermined level of 'safe exposure' to reduce the incidence of undesired side effects of exposure outside safe parameters.

There is still a lot of conflicting evidence about the long term effect of non-ionising EMR on the body including studies about the effects of living next to high tension power transmission routes where the EMR off the wires can be distinct and exposure is long term.

Also it's possibly more dangerous to operate a cellular phone than to stand in front of a microwave. This is because the cellular is usually exposing EMR for longer periods and at extremely close proximity to a rather important and sensitive organ called the brain.

While I'm scaring the crap out of you, you may also consider that exposure to EMR and cosmic rays is significantly higher during periods of sustained air transportation. Your basic aluminium skinned aircraft provides an inferior level of EMR protection as 35,000 feet or so of the troposphere/stratosphere/ozone and the proximity to the earth's own EMR field that repels some of the EMR.

Sorry but you asked...

[HogieGT-R]

the only time that i could see it harming someone is if they had a heart problem and an old-school pacemaker...then they'd have problems with it...or if they loaded it up with shiny reflective objects.....(tinfoil/silverware)