XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.politics.usa   
   From: bowman@montana.com   
      
   On Sat, 8 Jun 2024 20:27:01 -0400, 26xh.0717 wrote:   
      
   >    Did a little checking ... the first microwave oven came out in 1947 -   
   >    the "RadaRange" - but they were large and intended for   
   >    commercial-scale food production. Tappan made a 'home' unit in 1955,   
   >    but it was really too big and expensive. Sharp came out with a true   
   >    countertop unit in 1964. Sales were slow for awhile because many were   
   >    *convinced* they made the food radioactive.   
      
   The company I worked for focused mostly on the plastics industry.   
   Preheating phenolic or melamine molding material allows the time the   
   material is in the mold to be reduced, speeding up the overall cycle. Most   
   units operated around 100 MHZ.   
      
   They did build a couple of microwave units up the line of the RadarRange   
   and tested them in a couple of local restaurants. That allowed the   
   restaurant to make up sauces and so forth, freeze individual portions,   
   andthen zap them on demand.   
      
   Despite having all the elements in place they completely overlooked the   
   consumer market.   
      
   There were all sorts of folktales about the industrial models. To allow   
   looking into the RF cavity 6" fluorescent tubes were mounter in battery   
   clips on the interior walls. They lit when the RF was on. We actually used   
   fluorescent tube taped to a broomstick to check for leakage from the RF   
   cavity. Anyway maintenance electricians, except for a few that were hams,   
   were mystified on how a tube grounded one both ends to the cavity wall   
   with no other connections could light up.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)