How Does a Microwave Heat Food?

You put some leftover soup in the microwave for two minutes.

你把剩下的汤放进微波炉热2分钟。

Ding! You take it out, and the bowl feels nice and warm.

叮！你拿出来，碗摸起来暖暖的。

But wait... the middle is still ice cold!

可是等等……中间还是冰凉的！

So, why does that happen?

那么，为什么会这样呢？

First, a microwave doesn't really heat the air inside.

首先，微波炉其实并不加热里面的空气。

It sends out invisible waves, a bit like radio waves.

它会发出看不见的波，有点像无线电波。

And these waves are great at one thing... can you guess?

而这些波特别擅长一件事……你猜得到吗？

Water! And almost all food has water in it.

水！而几乎所有食物里都有水。

The waves make tiny water molecules spin like crazy!

这些波让微小的水分子疯狂地转动！

They turn back and forth billions of times a second!

它们每秒来回转动几十亿次！

As they push and rub against each other, they heat up.

它们互相推挤、摩擦，就热起来了。

Try it! Rub your hands together really fast.

试试看！双手快速地搓一搓。

Feel that warmth? It's the same idea!

感觉到热了吗？就是同样的道理！

But the waves only go a short way into the food,

但这些波只能进入食物一小段距离，

so the outside heats up first.

所以外层先变热。

The middle has to wait for that heat to slowly move inward.

中间只能等热量慢慢传进来。

Oh no, and ice is really bad at catching the waves!

糟糕，而且冰很难吸收这些波！

That's why the box says, stir it and wait a minute!

所以包装上才会写：搅一搅，再等一分钟！

And what about the spinning plate?

那转盘又是怎么回事呢？

Inside, the waves bounce around and leave hot and cold spots.

在里面，波到处反弹，形成了热点和冷点。

The plate turns, so every bit of food gets some heat!

盘子一直转，所以食物的每一部分都能受热！

Oh, and never put a metal fork in there!

哦，还有，千万别把金属叉子放进去！

Metal bounces the waves back instead of taking them in.

金属不会吸收这些波，而是把它们反弹回去。

Its sharp edges can even make sparks!

它尖尖的边缘甚至会冒出火花！

Sparks inside a hot oven? Not a great idea!

热烤箱里冒火花？可不是什么好主意！

My tip? Use a wide, flat bowl!

我的小建议？用一个又宽又浅的碗！

Heat it in short bursts, and stir in between.

每次只热一小会儿，中间搅一搅。

Then let it rest for a minute before you eat.

然后先放一分钟再吃。

No more frozen surprises!

再也不会有冰凉的“惊喜”了！