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To: Red Badger

Yes, I’d assume (without any additional information) that the frequency is important.

The reason why microwave ovens heat your food is that they’re operating in the “water hole” in the electromagnetic spectrum — they’re literally causing the H2O molecule to flex the two O’s off the side of the H atom.

If I were a betting man, I’d wager that the frequency here is exciting the C-H molecular bond in the same way - you’d be able to break down hydrocarbons of every sort simply by applying enough energy to frac them. Since natural gas (ie, methane) is CH4, that’s a stable base-level hydrocarbon which results if you were able to break down a complex hydrocarbon in the presence of some excess hydrogen to fill up the carbon atom’s bonds.


50 posted on 12/11/2007 10:16:44 AM PST by NVDave
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To: NVDave

If you hit the “right” frequency, and everything has an inherent one, then the C-H bonds could be broken without much additional energy applied. Kind of like vibrating them until the electrons’ orbits suddenly change or maybe even jump across to another molecule......


52 posted on 12/11/2007 10:20:10 AM PST by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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To: NVDave

A bit of chemistry and why microwaves heat things up.

The water molecule has two hydrogens and one oxygen, they are arranged in a V configuration with the Oxygen being the point of the V. The angle is 109 degrees or thereabouts.

The oxygen end has a higher electronegativity, which basically means it wants the hydrogens electrons a bit more than the hydrogens themselves want them. So the molecule becomes a miniature electric dipole - slightly more negatice at the oxygen end than the hydrogen side.

Now here comes a microwave, tuned to the right frequency.

The “electric” part of the microwave pushes the water molecule.. just like a child on a swing. The more it pushes, the more the water molecule starts to rotate - it literally spins, end over end, and absorbs the energy of the microwaves.

Now this is NOT the classical definition of heat. Heat is molecules bouncing around like pool balls. But the rotational energy of the water molecules causes huge disturbances and soon, things are zipping around and bumping into each other all over the place.

You are correct that microwaves of the correct energy can break apart various bonds. Each substance might require different frequencies, but there is no magic here.

As far as understand it, thats it.

One more neat thing. Ever see frost crystals on windows during the winter? Notice the intricate patterns and sworls that get formed? Or a snowflake itself?

You can thank thank the 109 degree angle for that. At 109 degrees, there is no nice, easy geometrical form that can happen. Can’t very easily make a cube, or tetrahedron, or hexagonal structure.
And because these molecules are notoriously difficult to stack up, there is one more effect.

It takes more volume to “stack them” than just leave them liquid.

Ice floats!


57 posted on 12/11/2007 10:58:54 AM PST by djf (Send Fred some bread! Not a whole loaf, a slice or two will do!)
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To: NVDave
Yes, I’d assume (without any additional information) that the frequency is important.

The reason why microwave ovens heat your food is that they’re operating in the “water hole” in the electromagnetic spectrum — they’re literally causing the H2O molecule to flex the two O’s off the side of the H atom.

Minor nit:
The “water hole” in the electromagnetic spectrum is at ~1cm or 300GHz. Most modern microwaves operate at 12.24cm or 2.45GHz.
This "de-tuning" ensures that the radiation is not totally adsorbed by the first layer of water it encounters. Otherwise your microwave hamburger would be ashes on the outside and still frozen on the inside.

58 posted on 12/11/2007 11:10:09 AM PST by dread78645 (Evolution. A doomed theory since 1859.)
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