Category Archives: Science/Engineering

We had a power surge at the rancho the other day, from an electrical transformer on a nearby power pole that inexplicably burst into flames. The upshot was no harm to our computers, but our microwave started arcing when we used it. The GE tech who came to fix it said it would be cheaper to buy another one, but I figured since the fix-it price was about the same, why not forgo the hassle of getting rid of the old one and going out to buy a new one.

So he took it apart to replace the microwave generator, and I saw that it was stamped "magnetron." Which reminded me that it was a descendent of World War II’s great secret: the cavity magnetron. It was a British invention that, with some American tweaking, became radar to help bombers find German and Japanese targets through clouds, track enemy planes and help pilots land safely in snowstorms. Not to mention later being used to track storms and tornadoes for all of us. And now we also use it to heat frozen food and coffee and cook fish, broccoli, potatoes and oatmeal. Pretty amazing.