Jiggling Becomes Heat

Jiggling becomes heat

Water molecules hold hands with their neighbors (the blue lines), so they can’t turn freely. Each time they are twisted, they push, pull and bump into each other. That makes them move more and more wildly. Molecules moving wildly is exactly what “hot” means. So how deep do the waves reach into the food?

Why?Rub your hands together quickly and they get warm. The rubbing motion turns into heat. Water molecules are held by their neighbors while being twisted back and forth, so they rub and bump, and that motion becomes heat.

Learn moreSomething is hot when its tiny particles move around fast and at random. Heating with waves like this is called dielectric heating. The molecules glow red on screen only to show them warming up; real molecules do not glow.

Why water molecules warm up

Jiggling → heat

textbook formulas · example oven cavity 31.5 × 21 × 32.5 cm