The Melted Chocolate Bar

Although the microwave has been a phenomenal scientific discovery affecting the lives of many people throughout the world, the advantages of this technology were not available before its discovery in 1946. Cooking before the microwave was a long but necessary task meant for women. This accidental discovery has been an amazing breakthrough in history. It is crazy to think that microwaves bouncing around in a metal box can heat up food with the push of a button. The microwave is used every day by families across the world and has had many technological advances since its arrival in 1946. Perhaps one of the top used technologies, the microwave has been a tremendous discovery that many people are thankful for today.

In October of 1946, Percy Spencer was working at an engineering company. This company made equipment for the Defense Department, and they were testing a new power tube called a magnetron. The magnetron produced microwaves which were used by the military to detect unfriendly planes (Landau 41). It turns out that the magnetron had another use. After finding a melted chocolate bar in his pocket, Spencerguessed that his candy bar had been melted by the microwaves (Landau 41). Percy was a smart man and knew that with some experiments and help from others he could find the answer he was looking for. Spencer did some experimenting with different foods including popcorn kernels and an egg (Landau42).

Excited to see what might come next, he kept planning. He fashioned a metal box that had an opening. Through this opening, he fed microwave power that could not escape the box

Rasmussen 2

(“Microwave,” Southwest). He knew right away that he had made an amazing discovery. It would save hours of work.

Spencer went to work with o...

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