Whats the Story?

The microwave was invented by an American radar engineer named Percy Spencer. Spencer invented the microwave using radar technology developed during World War II. 

Radar stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. Radars use radio waves to detect the distance and velocity or speed of an object. In the microwave, radars detect the presence of an object, in most cases food. Magnetrons, which are vacuum tubes that can generate microwaves, were one of the most crucial milestones in the invention of the microwave. One day while Percy Spencer was working with Magnetrons, he discovered that a candy bar he had in his pocket had melted due to microwaves emitted from the magnetron. If it wasn't for this discovery, microwaves might not exist today. 

When: The microwave was invented in 1945, after WWII. This invention was one of the many scientific breakthroughs during this time. Radar was being used for the war by scientists to detect enemy air crafts, and this is when the groundwork for the microwave was set. 

Where: The cavity magnetron was invented by physicists John Randall and Harry Boot at Birmingham University in England. This is considered where the microwave was invented because the cavity magnetron is the core component of the microwave. But Percy Spencer actually discovered that radars could be use in microwaves to detect objects by using radio waves. So Percy Spencer invented the other component of the microwave at Raytheon Corporation, since this was where he worked when he made his discovery.

Robert N. Hall is not considered to be the inventor of the microwave, but he did help in a big way. Robert N. Hall invented the magnetron that microwaves today use. So he has to be included in the list of inventors of the microwave.

The technology that microwaves use called radar was initially used during WWII to detect enemy air crafts. However, the inventor of the microwave, Percy Spencer, soon discovered that radar could also heat food, when a candy bar in his pocket melted when he was working with radar. Even though the technology used to create the microwave was not intended for the use of heating up food, a faster version of the oven was always thought of. The microwave itself was invented mainly to be able to cook food faster, this is basically the problem the microwave solved.