As an disconcerting fact, to which I hope the question has a reassuring answer. Why is it that a mobile phone will still work inside a microwave oven, dispite the protection to prevent microwaves from leaving the oven? Does this mean the protection is ineffectual? What's happening?
yeah, but then phoned it from outside, it wasn't in my pocket while i was scrunched up in an oven! Although it's cold enough here to warrant some oven time
How'd the cellphone get there?!?!?! . you put it in there...a expensive cellphone? :faints: I have no clue how that cellphone still worked.... An rather interesting experiment.....I must say.... *gives dipply a cookie*
A microwave oven is not a perfect metal box, it has a metal grill at the fron so you can see in. These metal grills work only at certain wavelengths (otherwise you couldnt see in) mobile phones are actually at a lower frequency than a microwave oven (around a 33% or 66% in Europe, I have no idea what the requency in the states is). So it may well be that the grill does not work at cell phone frequencies. I must say its an interesting experiment, I've never tried before, ill give it some thought.
Fat Tony nailed it. The cavity/door seals on a microwave oven are only RF-tight at or near the operating frequency of the oven, 2450 MHz. A cellular phone operates in the 800-900 MHz range.
also, the microwave radiation really doesn't go that far evenwithout a grill so as long as you don't stick your face up against it you will be ok.
I completely forgot about this thread. I am now a little confused by your mobile phone experiment. At first I assumed it was simple Fariday cage effect, but there are 2 reasons im confused. Firstly the holes on a microwave a very small compared to the wavelength of a microwave. This is because this thickness of the metal determines the hole size required for the metal to appear a mirror to a given EM frequency. Secondly the wavelength of mobile phone radiation of that is longer then that of microwave radiation so if the oven appears a mirror to microwaves it should certainly appear a mirror to higher wavelengths. There probably is a good reason for higher wavelengths to pentrate a metal box but I can't see it but then again my electromag sux ballz.
It may sound Orwellian, but could microwaves be used for crowd control....you know....with the G8 meeting coming to Edinburgh (my home city) soon, could I make some blood money in kahoots with THE DREADBOT POLICE by microwaving some hippies who aren't licensed to protest? Just a thought. But back to the topic, thanks for the explaination, it does sound plausable that phones and oven use different frequencies, after all they are manufactured to differing safety margins, it's unlikely they are meant to be used together!
Actually, such a system has been developed and is beginning to be deployed: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0302-01.htm http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99991470 http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/news/2001/010302-npr.htm Rumor has it that the unit was on "standby" during the GOP convention in NYC, but wasn't needed.
AHHHHHH; I read that commondreams link, and that was enough.....I'm just beginning to get over the d.n.a and retina civil card their implimenting over here in the UK...now this?
