• Question: what happens if you microwave a fork?

    Asked by anon-241409 to Ross, Natalia, Martin, Gabriela, Ellie, Chukwuka on 10 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Ross Alexander

      Ross Alexander answered on 10 Mar 2020:

      Well if it is a plastic fork nothing would happen (assuming it does not melt and is microwave safe). However if you put a metal fork in the microwave it can spark, make an huge noise and give you a scare. And then you would probably get into trouble.
      Why does this happen: well its all to do with how food is heated by microwaves: microwaves hit the water molecules inside your food and make them start wiggling around. This motion creates heat, and voila! Your food gets hot!

      But things like forks are really solid and do not move around as much so the energy doesn’t have anywhere to go so the metal heats up and catches on fire.
      The pointy bits can also can cause electrons to bounce off the sides of the microwave creating electricity.

      Basically try not to put a fork in the microwave if you do not want to get into trouble.

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