While it was originally sold to restaurants and the very wealthy, the rest of the world had other plans. The convenience and luxury offered by this wonder of technology was not going to stay as just a commercial tool for long and once the first practical model was introduced, it was the beginning of something beautiful.
Society was beginning to move at a faster pace so the quickening of cooking and food production was a natural step for us to take.
Biological
While the microwave was a home appliance marketed towards women, men and women use it the same way. Our human biology, however, means the microwave can affect us as it does our food. That is to say, that exposure to microwave radiation can leave burn marks and the eyes are particularly vulnerable due to their high water content. Even with the danger, no injuries have been recorded from radiation damage from a microwave (FDA 2014).
Social
In 1971 only one percent of households owned a microwave. That number grew to twenty five percent by 1986 and is up to ninety percent today (Liegey 2001). The microwave revolutionized the way we cook and freed the average American woman from long cooking duties giving them more time to be social. Several meals could also be made at once and easily reheated at a later time.
Cultural
The cultural impact of the microwave oven can be best seen in the aisles of our grocery stores. Whole sections have been taken over by only foods designed specifically for a microwave. Food plays a vital role in a culture and is how we bond. I know apartments full of college students who have never cooked without a microwave.
Economic
The microwave energy has more applications that just in heating food. The original application of energy like microwave energy was for use in radar. Now it’s used, at various power levels, to “detect speeding cars, to send telephone and television communications, and to treat muscle soreness. Industry uses microwaves to dry and cure plywood, to cure rubber and resins, to raise bread and doughnuts, and to cook potato chips” (FDA 2014).
Microwaves have fallen in price down to around forty dollars for a new unit and far less for a used one especially when the best resource with a still working one that is being replaced is to simply give it away.
Political
Raytheon Manufacturing was building the radar parts for the war before 1947 but with that coming to an end it was clear they needed something new to make to stay in business. The microwave itself does not have any political leanings.
Educational
The microwave is a fantastic tool for education because it puts a powerful-ish magnetron in the hands of any teacher and a box with a nifty door to contain the radiation and put something to observe in it. For example: plasma can be made safely in a microwave with a cork, toothpick and microwave-safe bowl (Stanley 2009). This kind of hands on example wouldn’t be possible without the use of the microwave.
