Why Can't I Put Metal in the Microwave?
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- čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
- We know we're not supposed to put metal in the microwave, but why? We don't microwave silverware but what about Hot Pocket wrappers? They have metal on the inside. How does that work? Let Michael Aranda explain.
Hosted by: Michael Aranda
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Sources:
mentalfloss.com/article/32032/...
• Metal in the Microwave...
engineering.mit.edu/ask/why-ca...
gizmodo.com/what-actually-happ...
www.todayifoundout.com/index.p...
Wrong. Mum would get really angry, that's why.
That’s even more terrifying than a burned down kitchen.....
Mum 😂
"I told you not to put metal in the science box!"
Now I must forever refer to the microwave as the "science box."
That refers to a lot of things.
5nefarious waves microscopicly
That's it.
*Racks 1911*
You're going in the forever box.
"And then you have to go appliance shopping!" Is it just me or is the way he delivered that joke hilarious lol xD
Yes
+JubioGaming no, he didn't
+JubioGaming I guess there's no helping it. I've got to go appliance shopping. Dangit!
yes omg lol i dead t
when he said that
To Sears!
Is it just me, or does "magnetron" sound like a comic-book supervillian?
"Finally, Magnetron's evil plot is defeated!"
"How can we imprison such a powerful Super-villain?"
"We must hold him in...the Faraday Cage!"
*cue dramatic music
More like a villain from Transformers
Wait until this guy discovers what a magneto is
This is awesome.
Or a Yuri unit.
Eight years later but hilarious
Why do you tear up when you yawn?
When you yawn parts of your body go through a stress relief process in an attempt to give you more energy and loosen up your muscles. What usually happens is that it focuses around your face. Your tear ducts are usually shut pretty tight but if you yawn they could open up. Not enough to make you start crying like a baby, but enough to let some liquid out.
does people tear when yawn? o_O
Disciple Demon
That isn't a sentence.
Carrie Ann yes it does.
MixmasterWright i like to think that you're yawning so hard that your body is squeezing the moisture out of your eyeballs. sounds much more dangerous that way
".... And then you have to go appliance shopping! "
The way you said it was so weirdly cute xD
Ah, peace at last. A comment section where there are no conspiracy theorists screaming that using a microwave will kill you, cook your balls, and/or turn your brain into goo.
Pure Bliss™ brought to you courtesy of the SciShow viewers.
I am against microwaves. I believe they change the food chemically in a bad way. It leaks radiation into the food..
How can a microwave produce microwaves if it is a microwave!?!?!?! #illinati #omg
KittyCatRosa Ah, the trolling is real
KittyCatRosa If it changed the food chemically, it would be more glaring than that.
There have been plenty of experiments done on this matter and all have concluded that it does not harm you.
I think my burrito is more important than my kitchen.
+Zachary Repassy i just posted that comment...
lol
No way, you could trade a kitchen for at least 10 burritos easy
lol 😂 I want to know did u ever get that 🌯 Burrito?
@@tovahdockens3563 yes i did lmao
"And isn't that hot pocket pouch lined with aluminum, what the heck?!"
XD this just made my life, his facial expression and his tone of voice was amazing
My mom has thaught me to always put a spoon in my soup when I microwave it so the soup doesn't overcook. I'm not sure how that's supposed to work but I never questioned it. We've always done this and never has it caused us any trouble; it was only when I told someone else about it and they questioned my sanity out that I realized it was supposed to be dangerous. Now I wonder why our house never burned down.
Why are tigers, jaguars, lions, and cheetahs all different species when they can still interbreed but all breeds of the domestic dog are considered one species?
generally when 2 species interbreed and manage to produce offspring it is sterile and will not be able to successfully breed. there are a few exceptions but those tend to actually be much more closely related than they look like polar bears(white) and grizzlies(brown)
Because in the case of the different species of big cats, the offspring will not be reproductively viable, that is in almost all cases two hybrids would be unable to produce offspring. Part, among other things, of the definition of a species is that the organisms are reproductively viable. Dog breeds on the other hand, can hybridise successfully with other dog breeds and the offspring can still reproduce successfully, though there are various anatomical barriers between certain dog breeds breeding with certain other dog breeds (eg. a toy dog and a Great Dane is never going to work). The reason why this is the case comes down to genetics and how recently the different populations began to diverge from one another. The big cats diverged from one another much longer ago and are barely similar enough genetically to breed with one another to produce a hybrid. Dogs, despite appearing wildly more diverse, haven't actually diverged that much from one another genetically and are all basically the same species. Each breed is really a subspecies.
The rule is if they can make a kid that can then make another kid, they're the same species.
Michael Wang Sort of... it's not so simple as that unfortunately. Ring species complicate this. Population A and B can mate successfully, and B and C can mate successfully, but A and C cannot. How many species do we have here? It's also a lot more challenging when talking about life forms that don't reproduce sexually.
because their offsprings are not fertile.
1:42
"And then you have to go appliance shopping!" The way you said that killed me
In Soviet Russia, metal puts YOU in the microwave.
(:
Mmmm... Human Burrito.
Benjamin Hershey microwaves put metal in you
Metal puts microwave in you.
In soviet Russia, hardbass dances to you blyat
I'd like to see an episode on why broken glass is often so sharp.
I love the way the information from these videos is delivered. The way you guys talk entertains me so much.
This was such an excellent, enlightening segment. Thank you for improving my life.
I almost burned my house down at 3:00 in the morning when I absent mindedly microwaved a fork. I am an idiot.
+GrandMasterArticula I remember I left the spoon in my soup bowl while it was being microwaved so i saw the microwave flash before i ran to the microwave to open the door. 6 year old memories, rather meaningless memories.
+GrandMasterArticula same. used most of my five pound commercial Amerex extinguisher.
Who else clicked the time?
Austin Kane j
Baked forks are my favorite snack.
The two GE microwaves I have purchased gave examples in the manual on how to use tin foil in the microwave to cover foods you don't want to over heat. For instance, you can heat a plate with steak and vegetables without scorching the vegetables by covering them with foil.
Did you ever try that? It sounds like horrible advice.
The crime here is putting steak in a microwave in the first place.
Why would you microwave steak?!?!
I call bullshit. Nobody reads the manual.
sleepingbeauty1022
What is "the manual"?
Finally !!! a complete explanation of the WHY instead of endless flashy examples of the effects
10x SciShow
I've always wondered about this. Thanks SciShow!
*About to go put some metal in the microwave to observe* - for science!
Here you go:
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/191-6628465-2172802?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=microwave%20oven&sprefix=microwave+o%2Caps
Just staying ahead of the game...
Search CZcams for "Brainiac microwave" - we do these experiments so you don't have to. *Do not try this at home.*... *no really, don't!*
aismartie14 haha thanks! I'll need one now :(
Translation I shall burn down my house then try to justify it by saying it was for science
put a grape in there and watch the plasma fly...For SCIENCE!!! No! dont do anything to the microwave.just leave it the fuck alone man. leave it alone
NOOOOOO NOT MY BURRITO!! PLASE! TAKE MY KITCHEN, MICROWACE BUT NOT MY BURRITO
Information and humor, the best mix
ahh ive been wondering about this for like ever. good job!
Why do people experience Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR)?
Its not fully know yet :)
That's not something SciShow can answer (yet), because as of now there's not even any scientific data supporting the idea that people DO experience it. That is, it could all just be placebo for all the science behind it.
IceMetalPunk it's that tingly feeling you get when you hear/see certain things. I'm pretty sure it's not your brain making it up seeing as almost everyone has experienced it and it is always described as the same thing "a tingling sensation on your head and/or spine".
***** neither of us said that, read what I responded to.
Because life is beautiful
It would be neat to have a video articulating how the microwave extracts nutrients from the foods being heated in it.
I have seen Michael Aranda host plenty of scishow episodes, and this episode is by a long shot my favorite delivery of his. His inflection holds my interest on point and doesn't sound cliche. Not that his other videos do either of these things, but if Hank is having an off episode, those tend to be the first flaws I see. Just my honest opinion.
Thanks for putting this idea in my head.
cats aren't made of metal so can I put my cat in the microwave?
+James «Subscribe for duck pics» swagdank Yes
No, cats are liquids and that means that if heated up enough they evaporate into a gas and become genie cats who starts wars with ceiling cat.
+James “Subscribe for duck pics” swagdank Cats are held together by static electricity. You spray them with anti-static and they collapse. You microwave them and they implode from excessive electricity. However, because they don't abide by any other laws of physics, they will form back into their normal shape and seek revenge. Like showing you their belly and tearing your hand off when you touch it.
Yes
yes
Steins Gate makes so much more sense. Gel Bananas anyone?
YES!
Not really. Well, the blue flash, I suppose. The teleporting bananas, not so much.
EDIT: Sorry; _time-traveling_, not teleporting.
I just got a brilliant fucking idea for novelty candies.
Thanks for this fact. I've been kinda wondering for a while now for various reasons. Finally got the answer. Thanks.
I love SciShow. Maybe I'm wrong, but everything they talk about seems well researched and thought out.
I once put a plate with a thin golden stripe along the edge in my microwave. The lightshow was totally worth it.
You idiot metals don't belong in the microwave oven whatsoever.
@@stephensnell1379 One, you are making a fantastic impression when your first reaction is to insult someone.
Two, I have bowls with gold foil on them. I regularly put them in my microwave, no light show.
Three, many microwave manuals have a section on the correct use of aluminum foil inside a microwave. Last I checked, aluminum is a metal.
Finally, and this is really just a repeat of point one, but flipped on it's head.
Don't call someone an idiot when you don't even know that foil can be microwaved while commenting on a video where they expressly state that aluminum foil can be used in a microwave with care. It's blatant hypocrisy.
I'm ok with my microwave bursting in flames as long as my burrito survives.
Great video! more informative and funnier that usual. Loved it
My favorite things to microwave (in a not so food grade microwave) metal swarf. steel wool, or incandescent light bulbs, especially sealed beam car headlamps :D
To all those who dislike the first comment fenomona, I point you to the Hello Internet podcast, where C.G.P. Grey states that he likes that little bit of internet culture.
Which one?
>fenomena
Grey is also an emotionless robot, so who knows if we should trust him or not? :P
Yeah, I don't have time to listen to all 20 :P
*phenomenon* (it's singular ;) )
For all the people who can't understand what he says, basically: Microwave go boom boom.
Kenneth Leung yeah....I think most of us knew that. We wanted to know why it go boom boom
Thanks!
fun facts: many microwaves with a grilling feature come with a metal grill-thing, that is safe to use, even when microwaving stuff.
also you can turn pickled jalapenos into crispy treats, using a microwave, but when they're touching, they will light up, like the famous glowing pickle, and may even cause buzzing balls of bright glowing plasma to form.
"And then you have to go appliance shopping."
Cracked me up so good I can't
Moral of the story: use a toaster oven instead.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I put a straight up can of Spaghetti-Os in the microwave back in 4th grade. 4 seconds in the can buzzed and ignited and I'm glad I had lightning bolt reflexes to open the microwave door before he entire kitchen went up in flames 0:
Really good answer!
I love when Michael does videos. I just like his voice and style.
How does nonstick coating (on pans and skillets, etc.) work?
Or better yet, how does the non-stick coating stick to the pan? :P
Magnetron sounds like something from the transformers.
or a pokemon.
Oh that's because Magneton.
ty so much for this answered sooo many questions i had
Nice work!!
Fun fact: Putting a fork inside a microwave will result in sparks from the tips of the fork - because charge builds up at the points. On the other hand, if you put a spoon no sparks will start flying. (But no matter what, don't try this at home.)
i put a steel teaball in my coffee cup of water with coffee grinds. the little metal clip at the end hooks on the edge and sometimes pops a lot... but hey.. cheap coffee
your not supposed to microwace that. jesus.
Hi Michael Aranda, love your science made easy videos, you're doing a service to humankind, Namaste
I never thought to ask this question, though of course I've wondered about it plenty of times
Me and my mate were having these sponge puddings and there was foil on top, I took all mine off but my mate accidentally left a bit on. I let her microwave it first and a couple seconds in there was a massive flash. It was pretty funny
Also on the topic of microwaves, don't put a cherry in one, they'll explode and your mum will be unimpressed (there are still dry bits of cherry and it's been like 3 years)
I'm not english, but 'aluminum' is still funny to me
Very well explained
Excellent video.
Why does magnetron sound like a rachet and clank weapon
I think maybe it was in one of the games.
So here's a question you can use:
Why does our skin stick to frozen objects (like touching an ice cube, or licking a flag pole, etc...)?
Can you do a segment on how prosthetic limbs work. I find it fascinating how doctors can attach a robotic limb/organ to a person and it allows that person to maneuver again, sometimes even feel if they connect the nerves. :)
I never knew the risks of putting metal in the microwave. I never did put metal in because that's what I was used to. But I never stopped to think about why metal plates are never put in a microwave. I was never told that it shouldn't be done.
So yesterday at 29 years old I finally learned the hard way.
Now I want to put crumpled up copper foil in my microwave.
+WittowBudduh You should do it outside
+WittowBudduh Its fun, just make sure to have some kind of blast shield
and do it far away from any population centers
Nathan Vincent Well I don't think it'll be anywhere near that bad, but yeah. extreme caution should be taken
DANG JOS It may not have termite level danger, but I wouldn't do it in my suburban backyard
Nathan Vincent Yeah I could see why
My quick question for you: Why do stickers stick to non-stick pans?
Dear SciShow, could you please answer this question, that came up today in the university classroom and no one was able to figure this out? Why does ceramic (containing literally no water) gets so freaking hot so quickly in microwaves, while watery food inside it is still pretty cold? Thank you for all your great work, we love you.
I once (without thinking) put an Arby's roast beef sammich in the microwave while it was still in that paper/foil wrapper they use. The fireworks were spectacular.
Why isn't Michael in any new sci shows? :(
His company ran into financial trouble so he has to to another job concurrently. Check out his channel: czcams.com/users/WhatImDoingRightNow
Magnatron is the cusin of Megatron
Good info!
Thankyou I’ve always wondered
Toaster ovens are better than microwave ovens. Soggy Pizza rolls are nasty.
They have different purposes. A toaster oven doesn't really do anything an ordinary oven can't (albeit with less warming up), while a microwave can be used to heat up objects in plastic. While you can't make a nice melted cheese on toast in a microwave, you can heat fluids and defrost objects much better than you can in your toaster oven.
Basically, use the right tool for the job - a screwdriver isn't better than a hammer (or vice versa)
I understand that and agree, but have you ever had pizza rolls from a toaster oven?
I don't even know what a pizza roll is =P Toaster ovens aren't particularly popular here in Australia
Pizza rolls are small, frozen one inch by .5 inch microwavable/toaster ovenable dough pouches filled with pizza topping. they dough does not cook well in a microwave and tastes kinda bad.
I like your cephalopod picture. is it an octopus or a cuttlefish?
Ha and then you go appliance shopping😃
great video! keep it up!
hey weeve man your awesome and stay thata way
Me: oh we're learning about this in class I'll memorize this whole thing
Teacher: Amber why can't we put metal in the microwave
Me: well... *repeats entire video*
#BurritoLivesMatter
#SaveTheBurritos
#DontMicrowaveAndDrive
I leave the wire whip in the glass bowl when I make lemon curd and hollandaise sauce and I''ve never had a problem. I also leave the spoon in the cup when making cocoa, again no prob. I have left forks in things also, but they were specific to a recipe and only done at the suggestion of a cook who designs recipes for microwave cooking. My lemon curd is super btw.
I like how you said, “It could run your kitchen, or your burrito,” because the burrito is obviously more dramatic and important! : )
where is all that mucus come from when im sick? its just so much coming out at once.
From tiny chickens obviously.
The epithelial goblet cells which produce mucus overproduce it when you're ill because the virus alters how the cells function. On the bright side, more pathogens are trapped by this extra mucus but unfortunately the extra mucus makes you feel very congested.
Can god make a rock he cant lift?
He don't exist. But if he did, an immovable object and an unstoppable force are both pure energy and as such they would pass through each other. Watch Cosmos, they did an episode.
I think that God would be more into Soul. ( if he existed);)
Lmao asking about god on a science channel.
shima When did the internet become so humorless.
luckynbr13 they said "lmao" though, they must be amused
I definitely like this video. I was pretty sure that the mesh on the window was for a Faraday Cage, but I wasn't certain.
I love the enthusiasm when he says "and THEN you have to go appliance shopping."
And don't forget your tinfoil hat! After all, nobody likes roasted nuts.
Ouch...
What about CDs in the microwave? How dangerous is that? It's definitely fun!
VERY dangerous >_< The shiny part of a CD is a gallium foil--that's a metal. And the data is encoded by melting small pits into the gallium (side note: it's this melting that gave rise to the term "burning a CD"). So you have a thin, metal foil with millions of tiny gaps...and you're bombarding it with high-amplitude microwaves. That's just a recipe for disaster.
Gallium doesn't sound right to me -- that would have too low a melting point and would cause data corruption. Also, wikipedia doesn't corroborate it. They use aluminum. But anyways, it's a thin layer of metal with many close-by metal points not on the microwave.
somanayr
Huh. I have no idea why I always thought it was gallium. Must have had bad info all those many years ago. Myth busted! :D
I learned the hard way when I was about 7. We had a babysitter and were eating popcorn while watching a movie. You know how there's always those un-popped kernels at the bottom of a bowl of microwave popcorn? Well, I decided I was going to put the bowl in with those kernels to see if they would pop. I also, for some reason, decided that it would be a good idea to put tin foil over the top of the bowl. I don't know why I thought it would help, but I did it (without the babysitter noticing), and put the bowl in the microwave. As you might expect, very shortly there were loud noises and what was either fire or electrical arcs on the tin foil. This of course freaked everyone out. The microwave, luckily, came out unscathed. The plastic bowl, on the other hand, still has little popcorn-kernel-shaped indents on the bottom where it started to melt.
You guys are so cool
Okay, here's a question that has bothered me for forever. Hopefully you guys see it and feel like it's worth making a video to answer. Or maybe somebody in the comments can help me out...
How come I've never seen lightning in a snow-storm the way I've seen it in rain-storms? To the best of my personal knowledge, snowstorms don't seem to generate lighting... why is that? Is it because the frozen water doesn't conduct it down to the ground as well? In which case, wouldn't the electrical charge still be visible up in the clouds the way it is sometimes visible in rain-clouds?
"How come I've never seen lightning in a snow-storm the way I've seen it in rain-storms?"
For one, it's far less common. For another, it typically occurs when conditions are so bad that going outside would be dangerous. Snow often falls stupidly fast when conditions are right for thundersnow… and that's under the nicest conditions. It gets worse, obviously, as visibility drops to practically nothing when most thundersnow happens. Even if you were looking in the right direction, it would be tough to see it out past, say, half a mile. I haven't run the numbers, but do a count-the-seconds estimation of distance to lightning during your next thunderstorm and see how many are within half a mile-it's probably going to be a low number if it happens at all. An important point to make here is that snow muffles sound far better than rain.* For this reason, thundersnow is also harder to detect from hearing it. Typically, thunder can be heard at distances up to twenty miles away. For thundersnow, this drops to three, and that's on the generous side. Plugging in for area covered, we get radii of 1256.637 square miles and 28.274 square miles, respectively. This means that thunder in a rainstorm is audible across an area almost 44.5 times larger.
"Is it because the frozen water doesn't conduct it down to the ground as well?"
First, the basis of this question assumes that rain is responsible for lighting hitting the ground. We really don't understand how lightning forms, and only one of the theories as to its initiation involves water and ice. However, after it starts, lightning works largely without interacting with the rain in a meaningful way; this can be seen as true most easily when one thinks about positive lightning. It completely avoids the rain by virtue of shooting horizontally far beyond the edge of the cloud before it heads downward. Tesla coils are also another good example of electricity not needing airborne water droplets to cross a gap.
"In which case, wouldn't the electrical charge still be visible up in the clouds the way it is sometimes visible in rain-clouds?"
You cannot see electrical charge. It is possible to see light emitted by the charge accomplishing something, in this case making lightning, but humans lack the ability to detect electromagnetic potentials. If you are talking about cloud-to-cloud lightning, seeing that runs into the same issue I mentioned before: visibility. The clouds are simply outside the visible distance once they're overhead.
* I'm not entirely sure why this is, but I suspect it's from having more edges. Energy generally hates propagating through edges, and acoustic energy is no different.
Sai guy Wow, that's very informative. I'm going to guess that I've never been in a snowstorm that was "powerful" enough to create thundersnow. I didn't know it was real, and the other people I've asked in person couldn't tell me about it.
Thanks.
Is time travel possible
+Sif02 lol😹
No it's not, if you think so that's like changing reality and if you believe in that then it's no different from saying time travel is magic. It's like saying hey I can revive the dead, because you can't really go back in time without reviving the millions of dead peopl of past lives
When I was a wee lad I put pop tarts in the microwave for like 10 seconds and saw blue electricity arc around the wrapper. It was the most badass thing I've ever seen.
Thank you!!!!
$20 *****
***** What is this black magic
***** I want moneys! :D
What is this wizardry?
Brennen Sprimont My thoughts exactly.
Free meth for everyone!
Hey SciShow, do cats smell good but dogs smell bad? Please, SciShow, it's really urgent that I know why! WHY?!
I love this guy
Once I tried melting some butter in what was previously an apple sauce cup with a little bit of the foil lid still attached and there was lightning, it was really awesome and the microwave survived.
I really fancy a hot pocket now.....jk they are disgusting but interesting video as always :)
Hot Pocket > True Love
They ARE disgusting aren't they? Yet sadly I used to eat them all the time as a kid. Eww haha
There are some that are bearable, but those are the rare kind. The pizza and ham and cheese are just gross though. How can they call That meat!
Hi, basically they are a cheap salt and fat delivery system.YUM?
What happens if you put a Nyan Cat in the microwave?
Holy Shit SciShow! I was JUST wondering this
Magnetron is the coolest name for a thing ever.
I love the way you said "They could burst into flames" XD
U and hank green are dope. Keep it up
And cat is the bomb as well!!
I will name a few things I've put in a microwave a nentendo wii, a laptop a snowglobe, markers, lightbulbs, a car radio, grapes, cd's, and soap
Once when I was half asleep I put a mug into the microwave with a teaspoon standing up in it, intending to warm up a mug of water. However, all I placed in the mug was the teaspoon and nothing else. The sound of the arc woke me up very quickly but the microwave worked just fine afterwards. I still have it to this day.
Mad scientist here thanks for the info I'll be trying to maximize this whole thing