Heating Water in Microwave vs. Boiling on Stove

[Daisy]

Why is it that when I boil water in a microwave oven it cools at a faster rate then when I boil on a stove top burner? I've noticed this with coffee as well. In fact I've noticed that anything I heat up in a microwave does not stay hot for very long. Is there really a diff or am am I just imaging it?

[Oracle]

to me "there's no difference as long as it doesn't kill you" especially considering microwave's background :-P
It took about a year in London until they found out that even cooking is a danger :-P

Anyways it's quite up to common sense that whatever heats faster cools faster. The heat doesn't have enough time to warm up to "root"

[Ed]

Yes that is possible. A microwave heats only the outside of the water first from the direction of the microwave source. You don't see this so you wouldn't know. When you boil the heat is more distributed since the source of the heat is below the pot (as opposed to on all sides). So you are right.

[Tormod]

@Ed, welcome to our forums!

And folks, be careful with that water in the microwave!

Read This - Do not try it at home



Tormod

[deamonstar]

chalk it up to imagination.
it is also interesting to note that microwave ovens do not cook with microwaves at all. the magnetron inside these types of ovens actually use RADIO waves to cook food. the radio waves cause the water molecules in the food to oscillate at a high rate. it is this oscillating of molecules that builds up heat through the friction between the water molecules.

[darktr00per]

Well, first off the boiling of water on a stove isnt much different from microwaves, however the way a microwave biols water is that it uses 1.45ghz radio waves to excite the atoms of h20. It resoates at the same frequency of water- it vibrates the atoms and the atoms flip polars quickly thus producing friction between the atoms causing heat. The only thing i can think of is that stove boiling eliminates alot of seed bubbles(the oxygen hidden between the atoms).

[darktr00per]

2.45 sorry

[Aki]

It's kinda of topic, but is it true that it's bad to cook food with a microwave? I heard it causes cancer.

[halogenesis]

I thought it was the actual waves emitted from the microwave that has caused the stir about cancer-causing effects... not the food it cooks.

[Tormod]

According to Phil Plait in his book Bad Astronomy this is a myth. We are bombarded by cosmic rays constantly - the waves from a microwave oven are not harmful (outside the oven, obviously).

Tormod