Ask anyone to imagine a microwave oven, and I bet no one would picture a skulking behemoth the size of a fridge—only heavier. But that was exactly what the very first microwaves looked like. Later, on ...

An oven that heats food using microwave radiation. The first microwave oven was demonstrated by Westinghouse at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. Its 10-kilowatt shortwave radio transmitter cooked ...

The microwave oven did not come about as a result of someone trying to find a better, faster way to cook. During World War II, two scientists invented the magnetron, a tube that produces microwaves.

Today, microwave ovens are found everywhere there is food preparation, from restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations to hotel lobbies and the home kitchen. A vast majority of American ...