Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Microwave |
MicrowaveNoun1. A short electromagnetic wave (longer than infrared but shorter than radio waves); used for radar and microwave ovens. 2. Kitchen appliance that cooks food by passing an electromagnetic wave through it; heat is produced by the absorption of microwave energy by the water molecules in the food. Verb1. Cook or heat in a microwave oven; "You can microwave the left-overs". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definition |
Aerospace | Of, or pertaining to, radiation in the microwave region. (references) |
Energy | Electromagnetic radiation withwavelengths of a few centimeters. It falls between infrared and radio wavelengthson the electromagnetic spectrum. The radio wave beam can deliver electrical energyover long distances. (references) |
Geological | The subset of the Electromagnetic Spectrum encompassing wavelengths between .03 and 30 centimeters, corresponding to frequencies of 1-100 gigahertz. (references) |
Science | Electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between about 1000 micrometers and one meter. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Microwaves are electromagnetic waves with a wavelength longer than infrared light, but shorter than radio waves.
Microwaves, also known as Super High Frequency (SHF) signals, have wavelengths approximately in the range of 30 cm (1 GHz) to 1 mm (300 GHz). However, the boundaries between far infrared light, microwaves, and ultra-high-frequency radio waves are fairly arbitrary and are used variously between different fields of study. Microwaves were discovered by James Clerk Maxwell in 1864.
Note: above 300 GHz, the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by Earth's atmosphere is so great that the atmosphere is effectively opaque to higher frequencies of electromagnetic radiation, until the atmosphere becomes transparent again in the so-called infrared and optical window frequency ranges.
Uses
A microwave oven uses a magnetron microwave generator to produce microwaves at a frequency of approximately 2.4 GHz for the purpose of cooking food. Microwaves cook food by causing water molecules to vibrate - heating them, and the rest of the food, up. Since organic life is made up primarily of water, food is easily cooked by this method.
A maser is a device similar to a laser, except that it works at microwave frequencies. Microwaves are also used in satellite transmissions because this frequency passes easily through the earth's atmosphere with less interference than higher wavelengths.
Radar also uses microwave radiation.
Wireless LAN communication protocols such as IEEE 802.11 and bluetooth also use microwaves in the 2.4 GHz ISM band.
Cable TV and Internet access on coax cable.
Research into power transmission via microwaves occurred during the late 70's and early 80's - during the Kuwait oil crisis - by NASA, called Microwave Power Transmission (mpt), or Solar Power Satellite (SPS).
The microwave spectrum is defined as electromagnetic energy ranging from approximately 300 MHz to 1000 GHz in frequency. Most common applications are within the 1 to 40 GHz range.
Microwave Frequency Bands are defined below:
Letter Designation Frequency RangeFor some of the history in the development of electromagnetic theory applicable to modern microwave applications see the following figures: Michael Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz, Guglielmo Marconi, Samuel Morse, Sir William Thomson later Lord Kelvin, Oliver Heaviside, Lord Rayleigh, Oliver Lodge.L Band 1 to 2 GHz S Band 2 to 4 GHz C Band 4 to 8 GHz X Band 8 to 12 GHz Ku 12 to 18 GHz K Band 18 to 26 GHz Ka 26 to 40 GHz Q Band 30 to 50 GHz U Band 40 to 60 GHz V Band 46 to 56 GHz W Band 56 to 100 GHz
Microwave specific work:
See also:
- Barkhausen and Kurz - Positive grid oscillators
- Hull - Smooth bore magnetron
- Varian Brothers - Velocity modulated electron beam --> klystron tube
- Randall and Boot - Cavity magnetron
- Cosmic microwave background radiation.
- Home appliances.
- Microwave auditory effect.
- Radio.
- Optics.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Microwave."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| mic | English | Microwave integrated circuit | Computing |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: MicrowaveSynonyms: microwave oven (n), micro-cook (v), nuke (v), zap (v). (additional references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | The microwave Cordon Bleu hobby kit. Shampoo-conditioner combos, sample-packaged mouthwash, tiny bars of soap (Fight Club; writing credit: Jim Uhls) Actually, can't stop now, just wanted to pop something into your mental microwave, see if it defrosts (Drop the Dead Donkey; writing credit: Andy Hamilton; Guy Jenkin) My kid put it in the microwave. (Moron Movies; writing credit: Griff Rhys Jones; Mel Smith) I put them in the microwave to dry em' off. (Home Alone; writing credit: John Hughes) Let's share. Honey, I just killed a man who fried his baby in his microwave because it was crying too loud (Heat; writing credit: Michael Mann) | |
Lyrics | I got rice cooking in the microwave (It's A Great Day To Be Alive; performing artist: Travis Tritt) | |
Clever | The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Microwave Menus (1989) | |
Song Titles | Like A Giant Microwave (performing artist: Man or Astro-Man?) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
References |
|
Books | |
Periodicals | |
Theater & Movies | |
Consumer Goods |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Microwave Emissivity Map of Venus from Magellan (Mercator Projection). Credit: NASA. |  | North shore of Puerto Rico, just west of San Juan Note orange in top center, a microwave navigation station. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Microwave navigation instrument on east side of Penobscot Bay Geodetic target and total station azimuth and distance instrument Conducting geodetic operations to determine microwave navigation site Party off of PEIRCE. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Securing tower sections prior to erecting tower Installation party for microwave navigation system Party off of WHITING. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Seaman Shorty Fuentes adjusts navigation transponder Installation party for microwave navigation system Party off of WHITING. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Setting up microwave navigation instrument on lighthouse Party off of PEIRCE. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Looking up to microwave navigation instrument setup on Delaware Bay Lighthouse Party off of PEIRCE. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Antarctic sea ice cover in February 1998 and September 1998. Graphic derived special sensor Microwave Imager satellite data. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | 39C - McGavin working on gust probe and microwave refractometer. Credit: Flying With NOAA. |  | Microwave Relay Station. Credit: John Craig. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Circular Climb" by Dremeda Commentary: "This is a picture of the ladder on the microwave tower in Lago Patria Italy. I very new to photography so I hope you like it. ." | "Marci2" by Peter Ivady Commentary: "My cat Marci on the microwave oven." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Steven Wright | I put instant coffee in a microwave oven and almost went back in time. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Transurethral Microwave Procedures. (references) | |
Ongoing research will determine any long-term effects of microwave therapy and who might benefit most from this therapy. (references) | ||
While microwave therapy does not cure BPH, it reduces urinary frequency, urgency, straining, and intermittent flow. It does not correct the problem of incomplete emptying of the bladder. (references) | ||
Business | The fiber optic network consists of 4,200 km of fiber and digital microwave communication lines. (references) | |
The needs for PCS include antennas and towers, switches, transmission equipment, microwave (in the interior) and fiber cables (Buenos Aires). (references) | ||
The existing backbone of the Saudi Arabia long distance network was originally formed by extensive, mostly analog, 4 and 6 GHZ microwave systems. (references) | ||
Economic History | Australia | Ownership of microwave ovens is very widespread. (references) |
Italy | While home use of microwaves is still low, microwave sales are increasing. (references) | |
Bermuda | It has seven radio stations, three television stations, and a small cable microwave system. (references) | |
Trade | Argentina | Domestic taxes (i.e., excise taxes) are levied on tobacco, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, syrups, extracts and concentrates, television sets, tape recorders, record players, microwave appliances, among other products. (references) |
Singapore | Under the Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Regulations of 1991, 17 products (LPG systems, cooking ranges, electric irons, gas cookers, hair dryers, microwave ovens, televisions, video display units, video cassette recorders, table fans, high-fidelity equipment, immersion water heaters, kettles, refrigerators, rice cookers, room air-conditioners, vacuum cleaners and washing machines) which are potentially hazardous to consumers must be registered and declared safe before they can be sold in Singapore. (references) | |
Travel | Kenya | Some telecommunication links, especially those via microwave, do not meet the quality requirements for transmission of high speed business data and communications. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | People get pissed off when their microwave dinner takes more than three minutes to cook. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| "Microwave" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.01% of the time. "Microwave" is used about 608 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.01% | 602 | 10,640 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 0.66% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 0.33% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 608 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| USA | Anaren Microwave Incorporated |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "microwave": microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation ♦ microwave amplifying device ♦ microwave diathermy machine ♦ microwave frequencies ♦ microwave Hardware Description Language ♦ microwave integrated circuit ♦ microwave landing system ♦ microwave linear accelerator ♦ microwave link ♦ microwave oven ♦ microwave radar ♦ microwave resource cavity ♦ microwave search radar ♦ microwave spectroscopy ♦ microwave spectrum. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "microwave": microwave-friendly, microwave-packed, microwave-proof, microwave-safe. | |
Containing "microwave": non-microwave-orientated. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "microwave"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | mikroval. (various references) | |
Arabic | موجة الصغرى, طبخ في المايكرويف. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | микровълнов. (various references) | |
Chinese | 微波 . (various references) | |
Czech | mikrovlna. (various references) | |
Danish | mikrobølge-forstærkende transistor (amplifying transistor), mikrobølge (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Dutch | microgolf-versterkertransistor (amplifying transistor), microgolf (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Finnish | mikroaalto (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
French | micro-onde. (various references) | |
German | Mikrowelle (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Greek | μικροκύματα (microwaves), φούρνοσ μικροκυμάτων. (various references) | |
Hebrew | מיקרוגל. (various references) | |
Hungarian | mikrohullám, ultrarövid hullám (very high frequency, vhf). (various references) | |
Italian | microonda (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | マイクロ波 , マイクロアンペア計 (ME, micro floppy, micro-ampere meter, microbus, microcapsule, microcard, microchip, microcomputer, microcopy, microelectronics, microfiche, microfilm, micrometer, micromicro, micromouse, microphone, microphone location, microprocessor, microprogram, microreader, microscope, microsecond, microstate, microsurgery, micro-systems, microvolt, MPU). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | マイクロウエーブ , マイクロは. (various references) | |
Korean | 마이크로파. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | icrowavemay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | microonda (hyperfrequency wave, microwaves). (various references) | |
Russian | микроволновый, микроволновой. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | mikrotalasni, mikrotalas. (various references) | |
Spanish | microonda (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Swedish | mikrovåg (hyperfrequency wave). (various references) | |
Turkish | mikrodalga. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | мікрохвильовий, мікрохвилі. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | vi ba. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "microwave": microwaveable, microwaved, microwaves. (additional references) | |
| |
"Microwave" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: microwaved, microweave. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "microwave" (pronounced mī"kruwā'v) |
| 3 | -w ā' v | airwave. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-i-m-o-r-v-w" | |
-2 letters: coremia, vomicae. | |
-3 letters: avower, cowier, cowrie, reavow, voicer, vomica, waiver, wavier, womera. | |
-4 letters: aimer, aiver, amice, areic, cameo, carom, carve, caver, cavie, ceria, comae, comer, coria, cover, cower, crave, cream, crime, erica, macer, macro, mavie, miaow, micra, micro, moira, moire, morae, mover, movie, mower, ocrea, ramie, vicar, vireo, voice, vomer, vower, waive, waver. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-i-m-o-r-v-w" | |
+1 letter: microwaved, microwaves. | |
+3 letters: microwavable, servicewoman. | |
+4 letters: microwaveable. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Quotations: Spoken 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Company Usage 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Abbreviations 18. Acronyms 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
