Walk into almost any American kitchen today and thereâ??s one appliance that is likely to be sitting on the counter somewhere â?? a microwave oven.
The microwave oven didnâ??t come from humble beginnings. Itâ??s an appliance born of the radar systems used in World War II â?? and the labs of what is now one of the biggest U.S. defense companies.
Early in World War II, physicists invented the magnetron, an electron tube that could generate microwaves and improve the capability of British radar systems to spot Nazi warplanes.
Raytheon engineer Percy LeBaron Spencer was working on an active radar set a few years later when it accidentally melted a candy bar in his pocket. He figured microwaves could cook food. Spencer then tried popping popcorn and making an egg using microwaves.
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