Because microwaves don't heat matter. They heat* H2O molecules. This one weird fact is responsible for all of the weird differences between how they cook and how other more classic cooking methods work.
We're taught that heating has three styles: convection, conduction, radiation. But AFAIK, microwaving is a fourth and distinct style.
*: Even more specifically, they add rotational momentum to these molecules, which is not the same as heat, but gradually turns into heat (which is translational momentum) as they knock around. This, in addition to the fact that only the water is being heated, and that the microwave waves touch the food in an uneven pattern even if mitigated by a rotating platter, is why stirring or waiting or using "low power" (dithered) is an important part of microwave recipes, as well as why high moisture foods or intentional steaming works so much better in it
Microwaves also affect other polar molecules and ions in food, not just water.
This excitation leads to the generation of heat, which is then transferred through the food via conduction.
Microwaving is indeed considered a form of dielectric heating, which is a subtype of radiation. It’s distinct from conduction, convection, and traditional infrared radiation but still falls under the broader category of electromagnetic radiation-based heating.
Microwaves seem to prefer syrupy foods because syrup typically has a high sugar and water content. Both sugar and water molecules are efficient at absorbing microwave energy, so they heat up quickly. This is why syrupy parts of a dish often get much hotter than other parts when microwaved.
Microwave heating is not a fourth form of heat transfer as it name implies: microwave radiation. Yes, the heat is not being radiated by a thermal source of microwaves, but it is radiation being absorbed. Hence radiation is the mechanism.
Rotational momentum is also heat as it is kinect energy related to movement, linear or not.
I'm speaking from a practical cooking perspective, not a technical physics perspective. The radiation from flames or the sun affects food very differently than microwaves do.
For the same reason, I probably messed up other physics technicalities. It would have been nice if I added a caveat I guess, but so it goes. My mental model may be simpler than the truth, but it's a lot better for achieving practical results in the kitchen than nothing than "microwaves heat stuff up fast", which is what I had before and is a really shit model that fails to explain most of their odd behavior.
I suppose there's nothing stopping other forms of radiation like the visible spectrum. How about intense blue light? Could it penetrate better than microwaves?
> It is by the same people that believe whatever they're told by anyone in authority, and then feel the urge to pass it on to others without critical thought, also ignoring their personal real-life experience.
" by the same people that believe whatever they're told by anyone in authority, and then feel the urge to pass it on to others without critical thought."
respectfully, what the hell is this bit doing in your post?
Dishwasher detergent is probably the harshest chemical cocktails in most homes. Small consumer appliances are built to the cheapest minimum standard. Creating a risk of a fire and peacocking about how smart one is great material.
It could be emotional, but sometimes emotions are necessary to get the meta-point across. Without critical thought, the same people also pass on various other lies. For example:
1. Fluoride is safe in drinking water and is a good thing. It may be safe up to a point, a very conservative point, beyond which it definitely harms the brain development of kids, perhaps of adolescents too. Certain branches of the government are finally coming around to acknowledge it.
2. Chlorine is safe in drinking water. Chlorine is of course necessary to kill germs, but there can exist certain byproducts of excessive chlorination that are harmful to the stomach and the digestive system. These could form when chlorine reacts with organic matter in tap water. I'd like to see the government acknowledge it, resulting in a tighter range regulation of chlorination, its byproducts, and organic matter in water.
3. Handwashing prevents flu and colds. This lie was repeated over and over for at least a decade before Covid. Handwashing is no doubt important, but there is no way that it will block respiratory inputs like a good mask will. Both practices complement each other.
4. Combining vaccines is totally okay. Both children and seniors get affected by this lie. Logically, if each vaccine has certain temporary side effects, there is no way in which it's better to take two or more vaccines together, e.g. RSV + Covid (Moderna) or flu-shot + Covid (Moderna). Logic dictates that spreading out the risk over time will be easier for the body to handle, and it is so in practice.
5. Water ultimately heats to 100C (212F) in the microwave. In truth it's very easy for drinking water to superheat in the microwave to greater than its boiling point. The purer the drinking water, the more likely it is. This is a common occurrence with RO (reverse osmosis) water, even after it has been pH adjusted. Understanding this helps avoid burns to the hand and face from an explosion of the water.
6. It is safe to stand very close to a microwave while it is in use. In truth, if you measure with a microwave radiation meter, you will see that nearly all microwaves leak substantial radiation measurable in the first one-foot closest to the front of the microwave.
We're taught that heating has three styles: convection, conduction, radiation. But AFAIK, microwaving is a fourth and distinct style.
*: Even more specifically, they add rotational momentum to these molecules, which is not the same as heat, but gradually turns into heat (which is translational momentum) as they knock around. This, in addition to the fact that only the water is being heated, and that the microwave waves touch the food in an uneven pattern even if mitigated by a rotating platter, is why stirring or waiting or using "low power" (dithered) is an important part of microwave recipes, as well as why high moisture foods or intentional steaming works so much better in it