Most people have used a microwave oven before. They're a fairly common household appliance. They can be used to reheat food or even cook some types of food. But how do they work?
Microwave ovens heat food by causing water molecules contained in food to rotate. Water molecules are made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. These atoms share their electrons unevenly so tat it creates a polar molecule, where one side of the molecule is positive and the other negative.
Opposite charges are attracted to each other and similar charges repel. The microwaves emitted by the microwave oven create constantly changing electric fields. As these electric fields change, the water molecules rotate so that the positive end of the molecule is towards the negative end of the field, and the negative end of the molecule is towards the positive.
As the water molecules rotate they bump into other molecules and the kinetic engery or energy of motion is increased. Kinetic energy is proportionally related to temperature. So, as kinetic enrgy increases, the temperature of your food increases and your food becomes hot.
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