5 ms·

I don't think a microwave could effectively heat the center. The skin depth on a turkey is probably only a couple inches so a microwave could only heat the exte

• leoedin 14y ago
  Microwave ovens don't heat from the outside in, like a conventional oven. Microwaves are passed through the food, and the changing magnetic field causes water and fat molecules to move through a process called dielectric heating. The rate that food heats up within a microwave is completely dependent on what it's made of, not where it is.
  • arh68 14y ago
    You are mostly correct, but I'd like to agree that the rate food heats up does depend where it is. I know this intuitively, when the middle of my burrito is cold when the rest is hot. Microwave ovens do not cook food evenly, and it's not just due to wave nodes. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating#Penetration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating#Penetration Part [0023] in particular: http://www.google.com/patents/EP1991813A2?cl=en http://www.google.com/patents/EP1991813A2?cl=en