Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

37%
+1 −3
Q&A Microwave oven interfering with WiFi on the 2.4GHz band

Microwave ovens work on the frequency they do because that's one of the main resonant frequencies of water molecules. The radiation excites water molecules, which then transfer some of their extra...

posted 3y ago by Olin Lathrop‭  ·  edited 3y ago by Olin Lathrop‭

Answer
#2: Post edited by user avatar Olin Lathrop‭ · 2020-10-28T17:52:21Z (over 3 years ago)
  • Microwave ovens work on the frequency they do because that's one of the main resonant frequencies of water molecules. The radiation excites water molecules, which then transfer some of their extra energy to other surrounding molecules.
  • No, microwave ovens are not <i>intentional radiators</i>, at least not in the legal sense here in the US. Yes, they use radiation internally, but there is not purpose or <i>intent</i> of that radiation getting outside the unit. So unless there is a specific exemption for microwave ovens in the law (haven't checked), they have to comply with the same maximum radiation limits any other device does. I don't have time right now, but maybe later I'll look the applicable FCC part 15 rules and see what that radiation limit is and exactly how it is defined.
  • Microwave ovens work on the frequency they do because that's one of the main resonant frequencies of water molecules. The radiation excites water molecules, which then transfer some of their extra energy to other surrounding molecules.
  • No, microwave ovens are not <i>intentional radiators</i>, at least not in the legal sense here in the US. Yes, they use radiation internally, but there is not purpose or <i>intent</i> of that radiation getting outside the unit. So unless there is a specific exemption for microwave ovens in the law (haven't checked), they have to comply with the same maximum radiation limits any other device does. I don't have time right now, but maybe later I'll look the applicable FCC part 15 rules and see what that radiation limit is and exactly how it is defined.
  • <h3>Added</h3>
  • From a very cursory look, it seems like a home microwave oven in the United States is not allowed to produce external radiation exceeding 500 &micro;V/m at a distance of 3 m at the microwave frequency.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Olin Lathrop‭ · 2020-10-28T15:28:16Z (over 3 years ago)
Microwave ovens work on the frequency they do because that's one of the main resonant frequencies of water molecules.  The radiation excites water molecules, which then transfer some of their extra energy to other surrounding molecules.

No, microwave ovens are not <i>intentional radiators</i>, at least not in the legal sense here in the US.  Yes, they use radiation internally, but there is not purpose or <i>intent</i> of that radiation getting outside the unit.  So unless there is a specific exemption for microwave ovens in the law (haven't checked), they have to comply with the same maximum radiation limits any other device does.  I don't have time right now, but maybe later I'll look the applicable FCC part 15 rules and see what that radiation limit is and exactly how it is defined.